Being Reno
by A Darker Shade
Summary: Rufus has an unusual request for Tseng! What will Reno do when he finds out about it? Rufus/Reno, Tseng/Rufus, Reno/Tseng, Rufus/Reno/Tseng. Yaoi. Oh - and a little implied Rude/Elena. Very much M!
1. Chapter 1

**Reno/Rufus/Tseng**

**Warnings - yaoi, implied now, more definitely in later chapters. Don't like - avert your gaze!**

**Set before Advent Children.

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Being Reno

Reno was not a happy Turk. The last five so-called "active" assignments had involved hours of routine surveillance, sharing a car with Rude, who was not, face it, the planet's best conversationalist. And at the end of each tedious day, when there really was zero worth reporting, the boss himself had called down to the office and asked Reno to report that big heap of nothing to him in person. It was beginning to get on his nerves. "Why me?" he whined to Tseng. "Why not Rude? Is this to punish me because I suck at writing reports? I admit it, yo? I, Reno, do solemnly declare that I officially suck at writing reports. Now I've confessed, can't Rude go this time?"

"I'm sure the president would be disappointed that you're so keen to avoid him," the director observed.

Reno gaped at him. "What? That's so not the point Tseng. It's just…Oh, fuck it, all right, I'm goin'!"

Rufus Shinra sat behind his desk and took a deep breath in. He knew that his behaviour was stupid and childish – and pointless anyway because the geostigma would surely make him disgusting to anyone unaffected. But he couldn't seem to exert his usual self-discipline. It was becoming a habit, he knew, a fix he needed at the end of each day, and he couldn't imagine how it had happened, but what he needed was to see Reno.

He tried to analyse it rationally; he'd been ill for some months now and Reno had been loyal, sticking by him after meteor, working hard to help with the distribution of medical aid and tools, arriving just in time to get him out of that flooded cave system. But Rude, Tseng and Elena had all been equally dedicated, so that couldn't be the reason. Reno wasn't like the others. At first Rufus had tried to find non-sexual motives for his feelings, but it soon became clear to him that there were none. What he had was a crush. What he felt was desire. What he wanted was what he couldn't have – Reno hot and hard and pushed up against him, Reno's mouth bruising his own, Reno, flirty and dirty and sexy as hell, taking charge and showing him what to do. He knew that it wasn't going to happen – not now he was sick – probably not ever in any case because all Reno's lovers that Rufus knew about had been female. But that didn't stop him wanting, and he found that he had to see Reno even though he knew he was driving the Turk second-in-command crazy with his constant demand for trivial reports.

When Reno wasn't there Rufus thought about why he was attracted to the man. He ran through a mental checklist of things he found sexy about Reno, and just doing that was enough to get him hard. One – he had that edgy smile that could be sweet, or cynical, or foxy - sometimes just plain scary - but always, always sexy. Just - his mouth!

Two – he was so…street. Unkempt but still oozing style, casual and dangerous-looking, all spare strength and agility and speed. The red tattoos, the earring, the fucking _hair_ – all things the boys at Rufus Shinra's exclusive school would have sneered at and condemned as slum-chic, and secretly envied like hell.

Three – he was temperamentally the opposite of Rufus, and the differences pulled him in. Reno was unpredictable, fiery, outspoken, cocky, brash. Rufus was drawn irresistibly to that fire, especially now. He wanted Reno's brightness to overwhelm him, to burn away the disease, to consume him. He hardly cared if it was fatal.

Four – Reno's eyes were beautiful. That green-blue shade, and the cat-like slant of them; the way they sparkled when he was fooling around; the way he winked to make a point…And the way Rufus imagined they would look darkened by lust, narrowed, and focussed entirely on him…

Five – the guy was clever. Sharp as a whole box of tacks, with a quick-fire wit that could defuse a tense situation in seconds, or could turn on an enemy and sting.

Six - and, oh fuck, that mouth!

Reno knocked on the door. Rufus jumped. Oh, this was bad. This was wrong in so many ways. If he were sensible he would tell Reno to go away - never ask for him again. If he were sensible he would get Tseng to send Reno on other duties. But Rufus couldn't seem to be sensible. He called, "Come in!" and was glad that the geostigma gave him an excuse to hide behind his hooded robe so that Reno wouldn't see his heightened colour. Reno entered the room with his usual restless energy. Oh, that was seven – the way he moved! His speed, and his casual grace…Rufus became aware that Reno was waiting for him to speak. He asked, "So, Reno. Anything unusual to report today?"

"No, boss. Same old." Reno ran his fingers through that dramatic red hair and sighed. "To be honest – I'm not sure why you want me to report on this stuff. It's all routine. If the – quality – or lack thereof – of my reports is the problem, I'll try harder, okay?"

_No. It's not the reports. It's you. I just need to look at you. I just want you – here, now, on the desk. Would you do that for me, Reno? Make me feel something that isn't the pain of this damned disease? _

"Boss?"

Rufus sighed. "Yes Reno, it's the reports. Two lines of scrawl do not constitute an adequate report. That's why you've been reporting in person. I trust you've learned your lesson now?"

"Yeah, yeah." Reno shook his head. "You could've just _said_, Sir."

"I'm saying now."

No words came out of Reno's mouth but his expression said _you complete prick_ most eloquently. Rufus had to agree with him. Frustration made his voice sharper than he'd intended as he said curtly, "Well, that's it. Get out."

Reno snarled, "Yes _Sir_," and turned on his heel. Gaia, but he was sexy when he was angry.

Rufus picked up his phone and called Tseng, wincing as the ache from the geostigma spread along his arm and into his fingers.

Three minutes later Tseng was in the office. The director looked at Rufus calmly. "What do you need me to do, Sir?"

Rufus hesitated, but only for a moment. There was no cure for the stigma and he needed something to make him feel alive again. No-one was more loyal than Tseng. He decided to risk the question. "Tseng, if this offends you, say no, and we'll never speak of it again. But – I need…"

"How can I help you, Sir?"

Rufus's voice was almost a whisper as he asked, "Would…would you be Reno for me, Tseng?"

**Will he? How will that work? If you'd like to know, review yo!**


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the faves! Since some people like it, I'm carrying on... Just a short chapter now, but more on the way.

_"Tseng, if this offends you, say no, and we'll never speak of it again. But – I need…"_

_"How can I help you, Sir?"_

_Rufus's voice was almost a whisper as he asked, "Would…would you be Reno for me, Tseng?"_

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Tseng's heartbeat quickened. He understood the young president's desire completely: it was his own. Needing no further explanation, Tseng replied, "Yes, Sir. Give me half an hour. Do you want it to be here in the office, or…"

"No. Upstairs, in my rooms. You – knock when you're ready."

"You'd better not look, Sir. I'm never going to look like Reno."

"I'll leave the lights off."

Tseng nodded, smiling slightly. "Well – good night, Sir. I'll tell Reno to come up later.

"Thank you, Tseng." Rufus suppressed a shiver of anticipation. Fuck, but Tseng was good! Maybe this could even work!

Tseng took the stairs back down to the cramped, makeshift office Reno shared with Rude and Elena. Knowing that Reno never locked his desk, Tseng went straight to it, sighing slightly at the messy piles of paper and scattered elastic bands, paper clips and old plastic coffee cups that littered its surface. Over the back of Reno's chair Tseng noticed a crumpled uniform jacket hanging. He smiled. Perfect.

Opening the drawers of Reno's desk Tseng located the other objects he would need: a packet of cigarettes and a lighter and a half-used packet of cherry flavoured chewing gum. Opening the second drawer Tseng was surprised to find a collection of useful toiletries, including a deodorant spray and several kinds of hair-gel. There was also a small bottle of whiskey – half full. Tseng unscrewed the top of the bottle and took a sip, expecting something rough and fiery, but it was actually good stuff – rich and warm. When he looked at the label he realised how good, and shook his head. "We pay you too much Reno," he murmured, and then added an experimental, "yo!" Tseng wondered whether he had a hope in hell of acting Reno to Rufus's satisfaction, but he couldn't deny the excitement he felt at the idea of trying. Taking the things he needed from Reno's desk, Tseng went to his own 'office' - a converted storeroom - to get ready.

Closing the blinds just in case, Tseng stripped quickly, putting his socks and boxers into the bottom drawer of his own desk – because he was pretty sure Reno often didn't bother with either – then he sprayed himself liberally with Reno's deodorant. He crumpled his immaculate shirt as much as he could and put on his own suit pants, which felt strange against his bare skin. Pulling on his shirt, he fastened the middle three buttons and left the rest undone. Next, Tseng picked up Reno's jacket and held it against his face, inhaling deeply. Oh – that was good. That was Reno. The scent of the red-haired Turk aroused Tseng more than he liked to admit – perhaps, wearing this – Rufus would be fooled a little? Reno's jacket – so casually lose on its owner – was a close fit on Tseng: damn but the guy was skinny! Slipping his shoes back on, Tseng took an EMR from his weapons locker and attached the chain to his belt. He checked the charge and ensured the switch was in the off position, then remembered that Reno was left handed, and swapped the weapon to the other side.

"Right," he said to himself, "The hard part. The hair." Freeing his own long, straight hair from its neat ponytail, Tseng used Reno's gel to create spikes, as best he could. This proved next to impossible with his smooth, even-length style, but he managed to imitate the two long bangs Reno wore more or less over his eyes, and wondered how the red-haired Turk wasn't driven crazy by them. Fastening most of his hair back into a low tail at the nape of his neck, Tseng sighed. His new ponytail wasn't nearly as long as Reno's, but it was something. Chewing a piece of Reno's gum, Tseng returned to his second's desk to replace the items he had taken. He leaned back in Reno's chair just like Reno would, put his feet up on the desk like Reno, lit one of Reno's cigarettes. He took out the gum and rolled it into a ball between forefinger and thumb like Reno would – Gaia, the man really was an animal! – and flicked it at the bin, pleased when it went in, like Reno's did ninety percent of the time. Tseng stretched lazily in Reno's chair and inhaled the smoke from Reno's cigarette. He felt – good. Relaxed. Freer, in the half-undone clothes, wilder, with his hair falling over his face and his eyes closed. He opened Reno's bottom drawer again, took another long swig of whiskey, savouring its warm sweetness this time. Then he finished the cigarette and ground the butt into Reno's already full ashtray. How did the man manage to have an ashtray in a fucking non-smoking building? Tseng shrugged experimentally. That felt good too. He jumped up from the chair with Renoesque energy.

"Right!" he said aloud. "Time to go, yo!"

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There will be action in the next chapter, I should think!

Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you kind reviewers!

Warnings: yaoi, sex...not entirely PWP, but the sex is kind of the point...Rated M.

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Rufus Shinra lay on the bed in his private rooms on the top floor of Healen Lodge, waiting. He had half undressed and now wore only his unbuttoned white shirt and white suit pants. The lights were off and the blinds down: the room was almost completely dark. Although he didn't want to spoil things by touching himself, Rufus found that he was growing hard with the anticipation of Tseng – of _Reno_, he told himself.

His cock stirred at the thought of the wild, red-haired Turk. Rufus had wanted Reno for so long that he couldn't remember when the desire had started. He watched Reno all the time, and was never sure whether the Turk had noticed that or not. Sometimes, it seemed to Rufus, the nonchalant sway of Reno's hips as he walked into a room to do a security sweep before Rufus followed him in, was just a touch exaggerated. Sometimes there was something in Reno's easy shrug, or the tilt of his head, or the glint in his sea-green eyes that suggested he knew perfectly well the effect he had on his young boss. But there was never quite enough to be sure.

Besides, Rufus had never found any evidence that Reno was anything but straight. Reno loved women, and women loved Reno – and there had been a lot of women over the years, even just counting the ones Rufus knew about. None of them conformed to any particular type – the only thing they seemed to have in common was that none of them stayed very long. Whether that was their choice, or Reno's, or some of each, Rufus didn't know.

Rufus sighed. He'd been faithful to Reno far longer than any of those women had. Not sexually faithful, of course - Rufus preferred men, but he'd had his share of women too, and there had been plenty of both. Being the richest man on the planet, and the president of the world's most powerful company, hadn't exactly repelled potential lovers. But he had been faithful to Reno, in his fashion. Reno was different. Reno was his ideal – the image of his desire. How that had happened, Rufus didn't know. If he'd set out to imagine an ideal partner for himself surely he would have chosen someone like Tseng – a calm, restrained, elegant man, deadly and efficient and precise. Tseng's brand of beauty was classic and clean and well-groomed, much like Rufus's own. Reno was – what? Wild, disorderly, hectic. Reno burned flame-bright – his intelligence was keen, knife-edged wit. He was speed, and chaos, and crazy energy. He had a feral beauty – the man was a goddamned _fox_ – untameable, and the fucking sexiest thing Rufus had ever seen. Thinking about Reno now made Rufus want to rub himself raw – it took all his self-control not to touch – to keep still and wait.

It was probably a stupid idea anyway – how would Tseng possibly pull this off? Rufus suppressed a snigger at the double-entendre, even as it sparked a shudder of excitement. But Tseng and Reno were opposites in so many ways…Perhaps he should just forget the whole thing?

"Yo, boss." Rufus froze. The voice from the doorway sounded exactly like –

"Reno?" Rufus asked, his breath catching. He knew it had to be Tseng. Unless…

"Tseng said you wanted me, boss?" Rufus's heart pounded. Was it possible? No – it _had_ to be Tseng. Reno wasn't even in the building. Rufus's mouth was dry, but he said, "Yes, Reno. Come in." The voice from the doorway was uncertain now. "I…it's dark, Sir. Shall I put the lights on?"

"No, no – leave it. I just wanted…Come in Reno. Shut the door behind you. Come over to the bed."

"You're the boss." Rufus could almost hear Reno's shrug. A figure approached the bed, no more than a darker patch against the darkness. Rufus inhaled. Fuck, but the room smelled like Reno: expensive whisky, cigarettes, something sweet like cherries, and under it all a dark, male scent that was erotic and unmistakable. Rufus breathed, "Reno…"

"Boss?"

"I want you Reno. I have done for a long time."

There was a long silence. Then Reno's voice asked, "Is that an order, Boss?"

"Does it need to be?"

"Ah – I guess…not. But…I don't do this…Guys, I mean. I'm not sure what you…"

"Nothing new, Reno. Not…now. After all, some things – gender doesn't really make a difference."

"I…suppose not."

'Reno' sounded so genuinely uncertain that Rufus experienced another moment of doubt. Needing to know for sure that it was Tseng, and yet not wanting to spoil the illusion, Rufus said more harshly than he meant to, "Just get on the damn bed, Reno!"

"Sir." The tone was perfect, having exactly the same clipped, pissed off quality of Reno's earlier reply in the office when Rufus had lied about his reports being the reason for his constantly being called in to see the boss. Of course, Tseng had probably heard that tone from Reno plenty of times himself, but it was a damned convincing imitation – if it _was_ an imitation. Rufus reached out blindly as Reno – or Tseng – sat rather hesitantly on the edge of the bed. He caught hold of a long-fingered hand, which gave him no clue as to which man was beside him in the dark, and raised it to his lips. Rufus heard a gasp as he took a finger in his mouth, licked the tip, and sucked slowly. Still no clues. Rufus's tongue slid against smooth skin tasting faintly of soap and salt and Reno's cigarettes. Rufus decided to stop trying to figure out who was sitting next to him, and just accept the fantasy that it _was_ Reno.

"Lie down, Reno," he said, his voice a little rough with desire. "Relax. If I do anything you don't like, just tell me, and I'll stop. I know this isn't…what you're used to."

"If that's what you want, Boss." Reno didn't sound particularly happy. He didn't lie down, either. Rufus asked, "Is it the geostigma that's bothering you?" There was a silence, then a voice that sounded like Reno's said, "Kinda. 'Cause, I mean, we came through meteor and all that shit…"

"I've had all our remaining doctors and scientists working on this. It's definitely not contagious."

"Right. But won't it…hurt you?"

Rufus laughed, harshly. "Gaia, I don't care about that! I want to _feel_ something Reno – something good, that isn't just pain. The stigma hurts anyway. I want –" Rufus's words were cut short as a hand touched his cheek and a warm mouth closed over his own kissing him forcefully, lips crushing almost hard enough to bruise - fierce and hot as he had always imagined Reno would be. Rufus felt himself grow hard instantly, and his heart raced as Reno's voice growled, "You felt that, Boss, right? You want me to make you feel, I'll make you feel, yo!" Stiffening further at the rough words, Rufus heard himself moan as a hand ran down along the contours of his chest, pushing his open shirt aside, moving lower until he felt his cock being grasped firmly through the expensive fabric of his suit pants.

Reno was half lying over him now, one leg between his own, his growing erection jutting against Rufus's thigh. Rufus pushed his hands up under Reno's suit jacket and shirt, stroking the smooth skin and firm muscles of his back, pulling the Turk on top of him, their cocks pressing against each other so hard that the pleasure of it was almost pain.

"Gaia, yes," Rufus whispered. "I want –"

Reno kissed him again, his tongue thrusting into Rufus's eager mouth, his hands raking through Rufus's hair. Rufus longed to touch Reno's hair too, to reach up and pull him closer, but he didn't want to break the spell. He shivered as he felt feather soft hair falling across his eyes: Reno's hair would do that – not Tseng's. Damn but Reno's kisses were good. The Turk tasted just as Rufus would have guessed – an intoxicating mix of sweet and bitter, whiskey and cigarettes.

"I'll tell you what _I _think you want, Boss," Reno said, and there was an edge to his voice that made Rufus shiver.

"What's that, Reno?" Rufus slipped a hand between them, found Reno's cock and rubbed. Reno hissed, but continued, "I think you want me to fuck you, yo. _Make_ you feel…"

"Thought you didn't _do_ guys?" Rufus's tone was challenging. Reno laughed, low and sexy. "Well, like you said, Boss, some things, gender makes no difference. So..?"

Rufus hesitated for a moment. Before the geostigma he would have balked at such an idea, however much it might have turned him on. Even now, part of him rebelled at the thought of giving up control.

In his fantasies Reno _always _took charge: for the last few months Rufus had been jacking off to mental images of himself on his knees sucking off Reno in the office, or Reno slamming him face down on the desk and fucking him hard and fast – but those were just fantasies. In reality, Rufus was the boss; needed to stay that way. But…the stigma was incurable. The pain was only going to get worse – the lesions more apparent, the oozing black liquid seeping from the marks more and more often, until one day it would take his life in a degrading orgy of liquid agony.

And now – tonight – Reno was on his bed, and ready to fulfil his fantasy…Reno, or as damn close to Reno as he was ever going to get.

"Yes," Rufus said into the dark - the expectant silence. "What I want."

Then Reno was on him, mouth hot against his own, one hand working open the button of his fly, pulling his zipper, squeezing him hard. Reno shifted aside, his hand still teasing Rufus's cock. Rufus lifted his hips; eased himself out of his pants and underwear in one practiced motion. He thrust himself against Reno's hand as he did so, no longer ashamed of his blatant need. Then Reno was lying over him again, and he heard the Turk's zipper go. Reaching down, Rufus stroked Reno's hard cock, feeling a little thrill at the discovery that the Turk wore no underwear: now _that_ he would have expected of Reno, but never of Tseng.

Reno's long fingers toyed with Rufus's tight balls for a delicious moment, then slid back, pressing against his sensitive perineum. Reno's tongue flicked against his ear, warm and wet. "Lube?" he asked. "Or you're gonna feel this too much even for you, yo." Rufus bit back a moan at the words, and reached out to the drawer, his hand instantly closing on the tube he needed. Without comment he pressed it into Reno's hand and seconds later he was moaning aloud as a slick finger entered him, hard and insistent and so damned good that Rufus found himself pushing up against it, panting with lust.

Without warning the finger was gone, and Rufus gave a harsh groan as Reno thrust into him, pain and pleasure making him feel alive as he hadn't done since the geostigma took hold. Reno began to move inside him, deep and controlled and hard, every thrust hitting Rufus exactly where he wanted – where he _needed_ it to. Rufus's own cock was throbbing and tight, pushing against the taut muscles of Reno's stomach.

Reno began to thrust harder and faster, slamming Rufus down into the mattress. Rufus slid a hand between their bodies to grasp himself, pumping hard, desperate for release, his mouth pressed against the warmth of Reno's throat. Licking and biting the tender skin, Rufus sucked hard enough to leave a mark, and heard a sharp, indrawn breath, then a low moan as Reno came, shuddering. The sensation of Reno's orgasm pulsing inside him sent Rufus over the edge and he came in an explosion of ecstatic pleasure that left him gasping, "Oh fuck, Reno! Fuck!"

"Boss…" Reno gave him one hard kiss, and moved away. Rufus lay on the bed, breathing still ragged, coming down from the shattering orgasm slowly. He heard Reno stand, zip himself up, clear his throat.

"So – we all done? You felt that, yo?"

"Yes, Reno. I felt that."

"That's it? Or are we gonna do this again?"

"Do you object to doing it again?"

"I guess not. Kinda – intense – yo."

"Good. Tomorrow then? Same time." Rufus breathing had steadied. The Turk by the bed said, "You're the boss."

"Good night, then."

"'Night."

Rufus heard the door open, and closed his eyes before he could catch a glimpse of a silhouette or a recognisable profile. When the Turk had gone, Rufus leaned back on the pillows, satisfied, at least for now. But he still wasn't completely certain whether his lover had been Reno, or Tseng.

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Replacing Reno's jacket on the back of his office chair, Tseng shook his head, half smiling. It had been liberating being Reno, that was certain. His breath caught at the memory of some of the things he had said – liberties taken. And Rufus had allowed them all – _would_ allow them all to the real Reno, as to no-one else.

Tseng knew he had done a good job. He _always _did a good job: that was why he was the director, why Rufus trusted him implicitly. And the sex had been good too – no denying that. But some of the anger he had expressed in 'Reno's' roughness remained, leaving Tseng unsettled. Anger, or jealousy; he wasn't sure which.

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Thanks for reading.

In the next chapter - Reno begins to get suspicious...


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here we are again!**

**I'm afraid this is a sex-free chapter...no, wait! Normal serVICE will resume in chapter five. But first Reno needs to set his trap...**

**There _is_ reference to a hard, shiny purple object in this chapter, but it's not what you think XD.**

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Reno waited until the office was empty and then examined the whiskey bottle carefully. Yup – wasn't going nuts – the tiny mark he'd made yesterday was now _below_ the level of the spirit. For the last couple of weeks someone had been taking his whiskey and then refilling it – not watering it down or using a cheaper brand as far as he could tell – just taking it and replacing it with the same stuff. Why would anybody do that? He thought some of his cigarettes had gone as well, and, weirdly, a half used packet of chewing gum. Made no sense.

Rude? Would just ask.

Elena? Hated whiskey. Could've done it for a joke, but what would be the point of a joke he might not even have noticed?

Tseng? As far from a practical joker as you could hope to get.

Rufus? Wouldn't lower himself. Rufus would just call down from his office and say, "Reno, bring me some whiskey." Besides, Rufus only smoked socially.

Reno grinned. Well – he wasn't a surveillance expert for nothing. It took him all of ten seconds to put a plan together. First he'd need something big and obvious that wouldn't arouse suspicion. Glancing around the office, his gaze fell on Elena's desk and he smiled. Perfect.

That afternoon, when the others were back from their assignments, Reno sauntered over to the coffee machine, as usual, and perched on the edge of Elena's desk while he drank the horrible coffee. Elena looked up irritably from the report she was writing. "Reno! You're in my light!"

"Was the last thing she said, as the shadow of the Reno fell across her desk…" Reno added, melodramatically. Elena sighed, but couldn't help joining in. "So the blonde Turk whipped out her handgun, and before 'the Reno' could respond –"

"Ah, Laney, ain't no such thing as 'before the Reno could respond', yo? So – quicker than thought, Reno disarmed her, and refused to get out of her light until she paid the ransom."

"Which was?"

"Um…" Reno pretended to scan her desk. "A nice shiny purple stapler?"

"No way! That's mine, not company property. I like purple."

"'Kay, what else you got?"

"A collection of old coffee cups?"

"Got plenty of my own, yo."

"Dead pot plant?"

"Hmm. Totally dead, or salvageable?"

"It would need lots of TLC…"

Reno grinned. "Can I order that through admin?"

"No, Reno. Have to provide your own."

"Well – I'll give it a go. Okay – deal."

Reno took the half-dead plant Elena pointed to and carried it back to his desk in triumph. He went to the water cooler and fetched it a drink, pouring the icy water over the little, dried up plant, then cursing as peaty, black liquid seeped out of the base of the pot and all over the file he was supposed to be reading. Elena laughed as he searched the office for tissues. "You need to stand it in something, Reno!"

"Yeah, now you tell me!"

Elena just smiled and leaned back on her chair, watching Reno cleaning up. "Bet you can't revive it."

"Bet I can."

"How much?"

Reno considered. He could use a few extra gil, especially now Shin-Ra was facing possible law-suits from practically the entire planet, all citing the company as a direct cause of meteor and demanding compensation. Rufus was getting twitchy about it – pay was frozen, and everything was subject to cost analysis. Reno grimaced. No wonder Elena wanted to hold on to her stapler – probably had to fill out ten different forms just to get hold of a new one of those.

"Fifty gil?"

Elena scoffed. "A hundred says it's completely dead by the end of next week."

"So if there's even one green leaf…?"

"Yeah. You win."

Reno examined the pathetic specimen carefully. There was a tiny bit of green half way up the stem, and two leaves that had patches of green, if you looked closely. "You're on!" said Reno. "This plant is going to survive, yo!"

By the end of the day everyone, including Rufus, had heard about the bet and had visited the office to examine the plant. Everyone, including Rufus, had placed bets of their own – Rude and Tseng siding with Elena, and Rufus with Reno.

That was the interesting thing about being based in Healen Lodge instead of a huge corporate building: people were forced into much more intimate interactions than they had been in the past. Rufus still spent most of the time in his office or his rooms, but he had to come down to the cafeteria for food like everyone else. There was one TV, one working coffee machine, and one set of bathrooms, not counting the en-suites in the rooms.

Reno, who was naturally a social creature, found the new arrangement suited him perfectly: more people in a smaller space meant more opportunities for mischief. Rude bore everything with his usual quiet stoicism and Elena seemed to enjoy the increased interaction. Tseng made his tiny room into a peaceful, ordered retreat and seemed as content there as he had been in the huge director's office in Midgar. Reno guessed Rufus must be hating it though, especially with the geostigma to contend with.

Reno shrugged, and went back to playing with his plant, carefully removing the dead leaves, and brushing dust off those that remained. He wondered aloud about giving it a name. Rude shook his head, Tseng sighed, and Elena, in a flash of inspiration, suggested, "Leif – because it's only got one good one." So Leif it was.

By the end of the day everyone was thoroughly sick of Reno and his plant. Which was exactly how he wanted it.

The next morning, Elena stared as Reno edged through the door of the office carrying a large, extremely healthy-looking plant, with hundreds of tiny leaves and a mass of little red flowers.

"Reno," Elena laughed, "_No-one_ is going to believe that's the same plant! If you're going to use the old straight swap trick, the idea is - one: use two things that look almost the same, and two: do the exchange unobtrusively."

"Well thank you for the tip from the _Beginners' Guide to Espionage_," grinned Reno, "but that's not the plan. No – I got this as a friend for Leif. To encourage him. She's called Cammie."

"Oh, right. Cammie. Now it all makes sense." Elena rolled her eyes, as Reno placed the large plant on his desk, carefully.

Again, by the end of the day, Reno had spent so much time talking about the plants, watering the plants, and wondering vocally about their relationship, that everyone had had enough. Reno's plants were an established part of the office already. Reno left the room just ahead of Elena, waving cheerfully at her, and the plants. "Bye," he told the plants. "Now Cammie, you keep watch over Leif for me, yo!"

Elena departed a few minutes later, switching off the lights as she went. The office was dark, except for a tiny red light, blinking away deep in the heart of Cammie's foliage. The camera was concealed inside a wire cage, which prevented its detection by the building's security systems. The lens was tiny – disguised as one of the many red flowers. It was pointed directly at Reno's chair, which he had left pushed in, against the drawers. If anyone wanted to steal his whiskey now, that person would be forced to move the chair to open the drawer. And the camera, with its infrared setting, would capture the image of the thief even in the dark.

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**Please R&R**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you reviewers!**

**Chapter Five is finally done, and Reno's in for a bit of a shock when he sees what the camera recorded...**

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Reno left the camera in place for five days, during which time someone had taken whiskey and cigarettes on two occasions, as far as he could tell.

When the office was empty, Reno extracted the memory stick from the camera, pretending to be dusting Cammie's leaves just in case anyone happened to walk past. Slipping the memory stick into the secret compartment in his specially adapted silver lighter, then putting the lighter back in his pocket, Reno whistled happily to himself. Now he could get the evidence back to his own room without the unauthorised electronics being detected by the building's elaborate security system – a system he had designed and installed himself.

Reno's room, on the third floor of Healen Lodge, was a surveillance-free zone – he was almost certain of that. Not that he trusted Tseng or the president _not_ to spy on him, but he'd swept the whole place thoroughly and found only two bugs. He was pretty sure Tseng had given up trying too hard: attempting to watch Reno usually resulted in a lot of ingeniously dissected equipment and a dent in the security budget that Shin-Ra really couldn't afford right now.

Reclining on the bed, a bottle of beer in one hand, Reno flipped open his laptop and inserted the memory stick. Finally he was about to find out who had been stealing his whiskey, and possibly _why_.

Fast-forwarding through hours of compressed footage of the office, Reno watched himself working, or talking, or tending the godsdamned plants, followed by empty, black and white night-time views of his desk. Boring. Reno took a long swallow from the beer bottle – and then nearly choked when the screen brightened as the office lights were switched on, and he saw Tseng casually pulling back the desk chair, opening the drawers and taking out a whole collection of items. Reno paused the replay, staring in disbelief at the objects Tseng was holding.

"What the fuck?" Reno wondered aloud. "_Hair gel_?"

Tseng vanished, only to reappear - just over sixteen minutes later by the camera timestamp - transformed into…

"Holy fuck!" gasped Reno, as he watched his boss slouching in _his_ chair, feet up on his desk, smoking one of his cigarettes. "Is that supposed to be _me_?"

Reno wasn't at all sure how he felt about what he was witnessing. He'd expected a giggling Elena, or possibly a furtive Rude, or most likely the pair of them engaged in some kind of practical joke. Not Tseng. Not this! What in Gaia did the boss think he was doing?

Blindly Reno set the beer bottle down on the nightstand, eyes fixed on the screen. The weirdest part of the whole thing was how convincingly Tseng echoed Reno's relaxed posture, the tilt of his head – Gaia, the man was even remembering to hold the cigarette in his left hand. Reno looked at Tseng and recognised himself.

Tseng looked different with his black hair falling across his face, his dark eyes half-closed. Reno was used to seeing Tseng every day – he knew what the director looked like! But seeing him like this was something new – a jolt as powerful as if Reno had just accidentally stunned himself with his EMR. He'd forgotten – if he'd ever thought about it in the first place – how beautiful the Wutaian man really was.

"Woah!" Reno mentally cautioned himself. "How's that for narcissism, yo? So the boss pretends to be me, and _then_ I find him attractive? And just when I thought I was about sick of flyin' solo!"

That was the big drawback about being stuck out here at Healen Lodge. Sure they all drove into Edge on days off, and Reno had met some nice girls in bars in the last few months, but with nowhere to go afterwards, and so much work to do – well he guessed all the Turks must be feeling a little – deprived – lately. And Rufus – with the stigma an' all… Reno sighed. No wonder the boss had been so snippy in recent weeks!

But _Tseng_? What was all this about?

On the screen Tseng jumped up from Reno's chair, and again Reno was startled to see his own movements replicated so effectively by the director.

"Damn, he does that good!" Reno gasped. "Even _I'm_ starting to believe it's me, yo! But where the fuck's he goin' now?"

Reno fast-forwarded until Tseng returned a few minutes short of an hour later. Sitting in Reno's chair again, Tseng raised the whiskey bottle to his lips and Reno was disturbed to find himself more than a little aroused by watching the boss's sensual mouth close around the neck of the bottle. Reno's own mouth was suddenly dry as he watched the curve of Tseng's throat, his head tilted back – and – Oh Gaia – were those little reddish-purple marks on Tseng's smooth skin really what they looked like? Yeah – definitely.

Reno tried to avoid the clear conclusion of all this evidence, but he just couldn't come up with anything except the obvious: Tseng was pretending to be _him_, and fucking around with – _someone_ – who wanted that! But who?

Feeling very strange, Reno fast-forwarded through the rest of the footage. The same thing happened once more. On the second occasion Reno saw Tseng refilling the whiskey bottle from an identical one he seemed to have brought with him. Shaking his head, Reno wondered what to do. Suddenly it occurred to him to check the dates on the two events – and sure enough, the last one had happened two nights ago, when he, Rude and Elena had driven into Edge and ended up in that new bar where he'd met that brunette with the…

So that meant…

Rufus Shinra!

For a day or two Reno kept his discovery to himself while he tried to sort out how he felt about it. A part of him wanted to destroy the memory stick and try to forget that he'd ever seen the damned footage. He just couldn't look at the director or the boss without certain images flashing across his mind: images that both disturbed him and turned him on.

Another part wanted to confront Tseng. He didn't know whether to feel angry, or flattered, or both, that Rufus wanted Tseng to look like _him_ – but the whole situation was just – weird.

The worst part was that he just couldn't get that picture of Tseng out of his head: Tseng leaning back in his chair, looking so damned…hot! It was embarrassing having a crush on his immediate boss. The situation wasn't improved any by the fact that everyone seemed to assume that Reno was straight. True, Reno usually preferred women, but there had been times…Reno's philosophy, given his precarious upbringing and the short life-expectancy of a Turk in the old Shin-Ra, had always been _try anything once and get your kicks when the opportunity arises _- so to speak. So, yes, there had been some men. And there had even been that one kiss with Rude which they'd both pulled back from, laughing, and blamed on the drink, and which Reno, at least, had never forgotten.

Too distracted to concentrate on his work, Reno found he didn't even much care when Leif suddenly burst into – well – leaf, and he won his bet with Elena. Everyone was talking about a trip into Edge that evening and Reno agreed to go, but when Tseng pulled out, pleading piles of paperwork, Reno decided to face up to what had been going on. He wasn't sure what he was going to do – question Tseng, or hit him - confront him with the camera evidence, or keep that to himself. But he was sure as hell going to make _something_ happen one way or another, because ever since he'd seen those pictures Tseng had become an itch he just had to scratch before it drove him crazy.

Quietly telling Rude that he wasn't feeling well, Reno set his trap, leaving his jacket on the back of his chair, with his phone in the pocket. Then he went to his room, to wait.

Rude and Elena had departed for Edge, and as far as Tseng was aware, Reno had gone with them. The swiftly disguised look of utter horror on Tseng's face as Reno pushed open the office door and strolled in was priceless.

Reno stopped abruptly and stared at the director with what appeared to be startled incomprehension.

Hastily, Tseng whipped his feet off Reno's desk, sat up straight in Reno's chair, and tried to exhale the smoke from one of Reno's cigarettes unobtrusively - without success. Reno looked at Tseng, taking in the dishevelled hair, the half-unbuttoned shirt – the _jacket_?

"Uh, Sir? You're wearing my jacket?" Reno's confusion seemed completely genuine – hell, Tseng wasn't the only one who could act, yo! In an uncertain voice he continued, "It's just…I, ah, left my phone in the pocket?"

Wordlessly, Tseng patted the pockets of Reno's jacket, extracted the phone and passed it across the desk to Reno who took it and turned away as if he were about to leave. Then he turned back, shaking his head, and asked, "Damn it, Sir, what are you _doing_?"

"Don't ask, Reno. Not your business," replied Tseng, sounding amazingly calm, in the circumstances. Only the slightest flush along his cheekbones betrayed his embarrassment. Reno wanted to smile – he'd never seen Tseng discomposed before, even by this small measure – but he retained his expression of innocent bewilderment for a little longer.

"Well, I'm sorry, Boss, but that's _my_ desk, and you're wearing _my_ jacket, and _this_," added Reno, for all the world as though he'd just noticed the open bottle on the desktop, "is _my_ whiskey…" Reno picked up the bottle and considered it thoughtfully, perching himself on the edge of the desk much too close to Tseng for the director's comfort. Reno grinned down at him, the innocent expression gone in a lightning flash. "That kinda makes it my business, wouldn't you say, _Sir_?"

Tseng made no reply, only watched Reno out of those dark eyes that looked even more beautiful in reality than they had on the camera footage. Having Tseng at an unprecedented disadvantage, Reno made the most of it, running his fingers through the Wutaian man's long, dark hair with a little smile.

"Hair must be the hard part, yo?" he asked, gesturing to Tseng's half-undone clothing. "You _are_ supposed to be me, right?"

"Yes," Tseng replied.

"Care to tell me why?"

Tseng shrugged in a very Reno fashion. "I just wanted to see what it felt like to be less…formal," he answered.

Reno was impressed by Tseng's easy lie, understanding that the director would never willingly give away Rufus's secret.

"So – what? That's it? You just dress up like me – sit here – and steal my stuff?"

"I replace your stuff."

"Ah!" Reno tried hard not to sound too triumphant. "So you do this a lot then?"

This time Tseng really did flush.

"Sometimes," he admitted, reluctantly.

"Hmm. Well – it kinda suits you, being me. I could help you with the hair, yo. Stand up."

"What? No, no, Reno. I apologise. I won't take your things again. I'd better go…"

"What's the rush, Sir? It's not like there's anywhere you need to _be_, stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, right?" Reno knew that was cruel, but he couldn't resist. He wondered whether Tseng was late for Rufus yet – hoped he was. Wouldn't hurt the president to be kept waiting for once in his life!

"Stand up," ordered Reno again. Hesitantly, Tseng got to his feet. Reno walked around him slowly, like a critic examining a work of art – which, in all honesty, Tseng _was_.

"Yup," commented Reno, "You got the boots right – unlaced – good. Pants – well – a bit _ironed_ – And a bit too high on the hip maybe…" Reno paused behind Tseng, put his hands on the director's waist, feeling Tseng tense. Running his hands down over Tseng's hipbones Reno pushed the waistband of his pants down – just a couple of inches. Tseng's breath caught, and he felt himself growing instantly hard.

Reno heard the sharply indrawn breath, but only said, "That's better," and continued with his inspection. Coming to a halt in front of Tseng, Reno touched the open neck of the crumpled shirt Tseng was wearing. For a moment Reno's fingers stroked across Tseng's skin just below his collarbone. Tseng gasped, his dark eyes on Reno's.

"See, the shirt's good," Reno smiled, taking Tseng's hand, and guiding it to the same place on his own body, just inside his half-open shirt, below his collarbone. "Same as mine, exactly," said Reno, never taking his eyes from Tseng's.

"Reno…" warned Tseng, but Reno was the one in control of this game now, and Tseng found his fingers trailing over Reno's smooth, pale skin, echoing Reno's touch.

Reno took both Tseng's hands in his own, and placed them gently on either side of his face, Tseng's index fingers against Reno's tattoos. Then Reno touched the same points on Tseng's face, stroking two lines along imaginary identical markings. Again, Tseng mirrored the touch, as Reno murmured, "They'd suit you too, but I prefer you as you are. _Who_ you are…"

"Reno…" No warning in Tseng's tone this time, only longing.

Gently, Reno drew Tseng closer, and kissed him.

Tseng realised that he'd been getting it completely wrong with Rufus after all. He'd acted Reno as being hard, fierce, fiery energy all the time – but this – this was so much better than he'd imagined – gentle, and deep, and just so sexy that for one breathless moment Tseng was afraid it would send him over the edge.

He'd been right about the fire, though. Reno's kisses _burned_.

Reno couldn't quite believe how this had turned out, but he wasn't about to stop because of that. Tseng, the cool, detached director - the only man in the world Reno had ever felt genuinely afraid of – was in his arms, following _his_ lead – and that realisation was another electric jolt to Reno's system, sparking almost overwhelming desire. It had been a very long time since Reno had wanted anyone this much.

Tseng was thinking the same thing as he pulled Reno closer against him, the younger man's hard, slight body crushed against his own, and both of them completely aroused. Reno's mouth was against Tseng's throat now, and the director winced as he felt teeth graze against flesh already bruised by Rufus only last night. Reno drew back a little and looked into Tseng's eyes, his hands buried in soft, dark hair. He had been intending to pretend that he knew nothing about Tseng's arrangement with Rufus, but he suddenly found that he didn't want to lie, even if it made Tseng angry.

"So, Rufus bites, huh?"

Tseng went suddenly still, but his eyes never left Reno's.

"What do you know?"

"Only that you go to him like this. No cameras in the boss's rooms."

"So finding me tonight wasn't an accident?"

"No. But – wasn't planning on this, yo. Just…curious." Reno's expression was anxious now. "Boss? Have I just fucked this up? Because I just thought…I mean, I really want –" Tseng shut Reno up with a fierce kiss, and murmured, "Don't think, Reno."

Reno had never been so willing to obey one of Tseng's orders. He ran his fingers softly along Tseng's bruised throat and down over the firm muscles of his chest, pausing to undo the three fastened buttons of Tseng's shirt. Just as he had done earlier, Tseng mirrored Reno's actions, his right hand touching Reno exactly as Reno's left hand was touching him. Tseng hissed and Reno moaned as they found each other's hard cocks, stroking and squeezing and –

Tseng's phone rang.

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**Curses! Foiled by the bell...**

**Sorry about that ^^ but Reno's not done with Tseng yet - or Tseng's not done with Reno - whichever you prefer...**

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's taken a while to update - and that I left you at such an inopportune moment...**

**Still, at least this chapter is a nice long one (puerile snigger)...**

**Please R&R.**

**Enjoy!**

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Tseng's phone rang.

"Damn!" exclaimed Tseng. Reno's hand closed around Tseng's wrist as he reached for the phone in the pocket of his suit pants. "Don't!" Reno urged. "C'mon Boss – leave it." Tseng shook his head, detaching his hand from Reno's grip. "It's Rufus."

Reno's expression was stormy. "Of course it's fucking Rufus!" But Tseng only smiled at Reno's jealous outburst and laid a cool hand on Reno's cheek, stroking the red tattoo with his thumb. "Give me one minute?"

Reno settled, leaning into Tseng's soothing touch, feeling something more complicated than lust. Tseng answered the phone, his eyes on Reno's.

"Tseng… Yes, Sir… No, I'm afraid something's… come up." Reno's eyes widened at Tseng's wicked smile. "No, Sir. I'm sorry. I'm going to need Reno on the ground…Yes, but they're in Edge. No… Yes, Sir." Tseng switched off the phone and put it down on the desk behind him.

"Now," Tseng asked Reno softly, "Where were we?"

"You – uh – needed me on the ground?" Reno replied, breathlessly.

"Yes," said Tseng, pulling Reno down onto the soft grey carpet on the office floor and kissing him hard and deep.

Rufus slammed the phone down on the nightstand and ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. Fuck!

The rational part of Rufus told him he should be pleased that Tseng was taking care of things – getting the job done with his usual efficiency, sparing him the boring details. But what Rufus actually felt was acute frustration.

Frowning, the president acknowledged that he'd come to rely on the visits from Reno – from Tseng…

Rufus was almost certain that it _must_ be Tseng, but he'd been careful to do nothing that could absolutely confirm the truth, and in his mind he hardly knew which of the two men he considered to be his lover.

On reflection, perhaps it was just as well that he'd be spending the night alone. It would be proof that he hadn't become dependent on this… arrangement… to take his mind off the stigma. However much he tried to avoid facing the facts, Rufus knew that the disease was getting worse, and that so far every attempt at discovering a cure had proved fruitless. He made himself exercise every day to keep as fit as possible so that he could hold out until some way of treating the stigma was discovered, but with each day that passed it was getting more difficult to move freely without sharp stabbing sensations in his joints and muscles. He hid the severity of the pain in front of other people – especially the Turks – partly to spare their worry, but mainly for the sake of his own pride: Rufus couldn't bear pity.

Now the pain had become such a constant part of his life that it was really only during his encounters with the man he thought of as Reno that he felt enough heightened sensation to dull the agony of the stigma for a while. Reno was endlessly distracting, even in the dark. Even when it might not be Reno.

But if it _was_ Tseng, then Tseng was good. Really good. Rufus wondered how he felt about that – what it meant about his desires, and his feelings for Reno. Recently, Rufus had found himself watching Tseng, and wondering. The Turk Director was older than Rufus and Reno by five years, but hardly looked it. He was a very attractive man, Rufus thought: more classically handsome than Reno, with perfectly symmetrical features, bright, dark-brown eyes, and all that long black hair, still-water smooth, and deeply shining. Rufus longed to touch Tseng's hair, to run his fingers through its voluptuous weight, just as he yearned to play with Reno's soft-looking fiery spikes and stroke the long red tail that fell so far down his back. But in bed with – whichever man it was - that was the one thing Rufus had to avoid – the one certain giveaway. Whether it was Tseng or Reno who came to him in the darkness - who took him so forcefully and gave him so much pure pleasure – his lover always had his hair tied back apart from the few loose strands that sometimes caressed his face and made him shiver with excitement at the thought that it _could_ be Reno – could equally be Tseng.

Rufus decided that there was no point lying in the dark tormenting himself with thoughts of two desirable men, neither of whom was available now. Sighing, he switched the light on and got up to do some work, crossing the room to his desk and flipping open his laptop. Whatever the geostigma was doing to his body, his mind was still as sharp as ever, and, despite the lawyers' demands for compensation, Rufus was damned if Shin-Ra was going down without a fight.

Two floors below him, Tseng was going down without any fight whatsoever, and enjoying every second of it. Reno lay beneath him, shirt undone and red hair spread flame-bright against the grey of the office carpet. The younger Turk looked gorgeously slutty like that, eyes half-closed, biting his lower lip as Tseng's skilful tongue licked down the length of his hard shaft, paused to tease his tight balls, then worked slowly back up again, flicking over the velvet-soft skin at the tip. Reno moaned as Tseng's willing mouth enveloped him, not caring at all that the director seemed to be firmly back in control of proceedings.

Rufus couldn't settle to work. He came to the decision that, much as Tseng intrigued him, it was still Reno he wanted. Sometimes, in the last week or so, he'd noticed Reno glancing at him curiously, then looking away. What did that mean? And all that business with the plants and the bets…Rufus smiled to himself, remembering Reno's care of the plant. Rufus had won a fair few gil on that bet backing his red-haired Turk, and although he was still one of the richest men on the planet, he always enjoyed winning.

The cunning redhead could probably win any bet if he put his mind to it – by fair means or…Rufus found his mind was drifting. He wasn't surprised that Reno had managed to resurrect that plant – that it had flourished under his…ministrations. Those clever, long-fingered hands could probably make anything grow… Rufus felt himself stiffening at the mental image of Reno slowly stroking him to hardness.

Ah, fuck the paperwork! Trying to type with geostigma was making his wrists ache anyway, and if they were going to ache it might as well be from a more pleasurable cause than checking through his share portfolios. Shutting his laptop, Rufus went back to lying on the bed and reached over to switch off the light. The darkness made it easier to imagine Reno - entering the room, smiling at him suggestively, coming over to the bed…

Rufus pictured Reno leaning over to kiss him, long red hair over one shoulder. In his mind, Rufus reached up and wound Reno's hair around his hand, pulling him down hard. "Make me feel it again, Reno," he imagined himself whispering, as he began to stroke himself through the fabric of his white suit pants.

"Sure, Boss," Reno shrugged, casual and willing and so fucking hot… "Only – how about _you _make _me_ feel it a little first, yo?"

"Anything," Rufus imagined himself saying, looking up into Reno's blue-green eyes, not caring, in his fantasy, about how damn needy he sounded. "Anything you want."

Rufus found himself acknowledging just how much he did want – _need_ – Reno. Unzipping his pants, Rufus hand closed around his own hard, hot flesh, as he pictured the red-haired Turk's lazy, sexy smile. Reno straddled Rufus on the bed, and Rufus reached up to unbutton the Turk's already half-undone shirt, running his hands over the taut skin; the hard muscles of Reno's chest and abdomen. Reno caught Rufus's wrists in his hands and pushed them back onto the pillow behind Rufus's head. "No touching – yet," Reno said, bending to giving Rufus one slow kiss before straightening up and removing his shirt altogether. Reno ran his hands over his own body, slipping his thumbs under the waistband of his pants and pushing them down over his narrow hips to reveal his hard, jutting cock. Rufus licked his lips, swallowed hard, and Reno laughed. "You want it so bad, don't you Boss?" he teased, looking straight into Rufus's eyes. "So fuckin' bad!" Rufus nodded, unable to speak. Reno shook his head. "Don't get nothin' if you don't ask, yo."

Alone in the darkness, Rufus's hand moved faster, his hips thrusting up to intensify the pressure of his own touch. "Ah…Reno…please!" he moaned, aloud.

"Ah, Boss, that's so – uh – so fucking _good_…" Reno groaned as Tseng sucked harder, the younger man's throbbing cock thrusting shamelessly into the director's mouth. Tseng pulled back, making Reno moan with need, and looked up into his subordinate's lust-darkened eyes. "I'm glad you're enjoying it Reno," he commented with a little, ironic smile, "But you really don't need to keep on calling me 'boss'. It seems a touch…formal…in the circumstances."

Tseng had got that part right with Rufus: he had been calling the president 'boss' all the time during their – encounters. Rufus seemed to like it, but Tseng found that he didn't: he wanted to hear his name on Reno's lips – confirmation that Reno's desire was for _him_. Seeming to understand, Reno's eyes fluttered closed again and his back arched away from the floor as the director licked him with tantalizing gentleness before taking him into his mouth again and sucking hard. "Oh - Tseng!" Reno gasped, shuddering with pleasure.

Tseng was taken by surprise by the strength of his feelings when Reno spoke his name. The surge of desire he felt was mixed with something less familiar and more tender, and he found himself reaching for Reno's hand as he continued to suck. Reno's fingers clasped his own, tightening as the redhead approached his climax.

Rufus's fantasy Reno was stroking himself now, smiling that dirty, sexy smile as he looked down at the president out of smouldering, half-lidded eyes. "Maybe you don't need to touch me at all, yo?" he suggested in that lazy drawl that drove Rufus crazy. "Maybe I wanna see you lose it, just watchin' me." Rufus's breath caught as he rubbed himself harder, visualising Reno casually fucking his own hand.

"Tseng! I…I'm going to – ah! -" Reno cried, hips lifting off the floor, hand grasping the director's painfully hard. Tseng didn't move away – only sucked harder and swallowed as Reno came, watching the sexy flush that spread over the younger man's pale skin as he arched back, completely lost to the power of his orgasm.

"Reno!" Rufus moaned, coming hard into his hand and over his stomach. He lay still, panting slightly, skin damp with sweat. For the few, sweet seconds after his release the president felt nothing but pleasure. Then, as his pulse slowed and his breathing steadied, Rufus became aware of pain again. Every muscle ached – his wrist was on fire. Biting back a groan of agony and frustration, Rufus lay still, trying to breath deeply, striving for control.

Reno's breathing slowed. Tseng kissed Reno's thigh, his sharp hipbone, his narrow waist. He was about to move higher when the click of the office door opening startled him into stillness. Reno looked towards the door, feeling a faint dread at the thought that it must be Rufus.

"Feeling better then, Reno?" Rude asked. Hidden from the big Turk's view behind the desk, Tseng stayed motionless. Reno released Tseng's hand and zipped up his pants deliberately hard, letting Rude hear the sound and come to the wrong conclusion. Jumping to his feet and fastening one button of his open shirt, Reno leaned on the desk, his long legs blocking Rude's way into the small office. Giving his partner a _slightly_ sheepish and not _very _repentant grin, Reno shrugged. "Comes to something when a guy can't even jack off in peace! Thought you were going into Edge?"

"Thought you were ill?"

"Tension headache. Just…relieving the tension, yo!"

"Hmm," Rude commented, with a small smile. "Guess I know how that goes…"

"So – you're back?" prompted Reno, used to his partner's lapses into silence.

Rude nodded. "Got half way to town and the car hit a rock – tyre shredded and the spare's a write-off too. Shin-Ra's coming apart at the seams. I need the workshop keys. Think there's a spare down there somewhere."

"I'll get –" Before Rude could move, Reno leaned back, pulled open the top drawer of his desk and handed a set of keys to his partner. "There you go."

"I can get mine."

Reno waved dismissively. "I'll come with you – give you a hand."

Rude raised an eyebrow behind his ever-present sunglasses. "Only if you wash it first."

"Yeah, yeah!" As Reno shepherded Rude out of the office he glanced back at Tseng still hidden from Rude's view behind the desk. Tseng gave Reno a relieved smile. The red-haired Turk just grinned and winked, and closed the door quietly behind him.

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**Thanks for reading. Rufus fans - don't worry! He will get what he wants eventually, I expect...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you reviewers and favouriters - for your reviews, your favourites and your patience. **

**To make up for the long, long wait here are two chapters at once.**

**Rufus fans - see chapter eight ^^.**

**Warnings - see chapter eight XP**

**This chapter - it's still rated M, so if you're not M enough, don't read!**

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Repairing the staff car took a lot longer than Reno, Elena and Rude had anticipated. The spare tyre was shredded beyond reclamation; the sharp rocks of the desert surrounding Edge had made sure of that on a previous occasion – and there were no materials available to recondition the original tyre that had blown on the way to Edge that evening. In the end, Rude had found a replacement spare hidden away in a storage locker. Reno had examined it, and scoffed: "It's almost as bald as you, partner!" But they'd fitted it anyway, being out of options.

By the time the car was ready to set off again, Rude and Elena decided to forget about the trip into Edge, for tonight.

"Beer, cards, and whatever trash is showing on TV?" Rude asked, seeming cheerful enough about it.

"Sounds good to me," Elena replied, wiping her oily fingers on a rag. "Too late to go into town now. Bars'll be closing by the time we get there."

"Yeah – I'm always good for beer and cards," agreed Reno. Perhaps if he concentrated on the game – got a little drunk maybe – his mind would stop its constant replay of the scene with Tseng up in the office. Already, the memory seemed surreal to the point where Reno began to wonder whether it had really happened at all.

Reno stuck it out for an hour, trying to make himself care about the outcome of poker hands: trying _not_ to think about Tseng. Where the hell was Tseng, anyway? Had he gone to bed? Had he gone to Rufus? Why did the idea of the Director and Rufus together give Reno such a queasy feeling? Maybe that was just the beers he'd drunk. Had to be. Couldn't be anything stupid, like jealousy, because that would be ridiculous – Reno hadn't even _thought _of Tseng as a possible sexual partner until last week when he'd seen that damned tape! In fact, if he'd been setting out to have a crush on either one of them, it would've been Mr. White-and-gold shining example of physical perfection Rufus Shinra he would most likely have picked.

But now he couldn't get the image of Tseng's dark eyes out of his mind. And the way he'd smiled telling Rufus he needed Reno _on the ground_ – slow and dirty, and about the sexiest thing Reno had ever seen.

"What's up with me, man?" Reno wondered, picking up a card at random. "I don't do this! It's just sex. Good sex… but still, just sex." He gazed at the cards in his hand, seeing nothing at all. "But – Shiva!" he thought. "The way he sucked me off! The heat of his mouth – and that thing he did with his tongue… ah fuck! And I hardly got to touch him… I want him so bad. I want him like crazy! And he's most likely with Rufus now, and Rufus is calling _him_ –"

"Reno," said Rude, mildly, "It's your turn."

"Ah – right." Reno laid down his hand, which contained a random assortment of cards adding up to precisely nothing. "I'm out," he said wearily. "I'm… not feeling great after all. I'm gonna hit the sack. Night, Rude. Night Laney."

Rude waved a casual hand and Elena murmured, "Night, Reno." Rude was dealing again before Reno closed the door.

Passing the offices on his way upstairs, Reno hesitated, wondering if Tseng were still dressed as him. If so, he'd most likely come back to his office to change before replacing Reno's things – unless he'd already done that? No harm in checking…

Reno pushed open the office door and switched on the lights. His desk was just as he'd left it – but his jacket wasn't over the back of the chair. So Tseng still had it, then.

Perching on the edge of his desk for a moment, Reno closed his eyes and leaned back on his hands, aware that he was not completely sober. His normally perfect balance was thrown off – just fractionally – by the four beers he'd polished off failing to play cards with Elena and Rude, which must explain his feeling of disorientation.

"I should just wait here for him," Reno thought, sudden anger stirring in the pit of his stomach. "I should wait right here until he's finished with Rufus fucking Shinra – or until Rufus Shinra's finished fucking with him – and then I should let him know exactly what I think of their whole screwed up little _arrangement_!"

Another, saner, part of Reno's mind was travelling along a completely different track, like those damned switchback rails over at the mines in Corel.

"Just go to bed," it was telling him. "Sleep on it. Everything might look different tomorrow."

Reno had always been a gambler, though, so he made a deal with himself, and left his fate to chance, in so far as a man quite prepared to use loaded dice ever could.

"Okay," he told himself. "I'll see if his office is open. If it is, I'll wait and have it out with him… and if not, I'll go to bed and think things through."

Surely Reno had stacked the cards as much in favour of self-preservation as it was possible to do: Tseng was notoriously cautious. So when Reno put his hand on the door handle and turned it, he felt a cold, visceral shock when, with a muffled click, the door swung open.

"Fuck!" he murmured softly. "Who'd a thunk?"

But – a bet was a bet. Reno settled down in Tseng's chair to wait.

It didn't take long for Reno to start feeling bored. He looked at Tseng's immaculate desk – nothing there except for a closed laptop, an empty in-tray, and an out-tray containing two files and a sheet of paper covered in numbers that looked too dull to bother reading. Rolling his chair back against the wall, Reno nudged the bottom desk drawer with his foot, but it was locked.

Perhaps Tseng had already been to Rufus and back while he was sorting out the car and playing cards with Rude and Elena? Now that Reno knew what he was up to, he probably wouldn't bother returning the jacket tonight.

What did Tseng actually _do _with Rufus anyway? The Director was sure as hell great at giving head – was that what happened in the president's room? Or was it more than that? And did Rufus reciprocate?

Reno tried not to think about it, but pictures kept popping into his mind, and he found himself stirring without really wanting to. Rufus could be a prick at times, but there was no denying he was hot. There had been occasions when Reno was particularly pissed at Rufus because of some pointless order – like all those stupid, trivial reports – when he'd had a sudden, vivid mental image of himself grabbing Rufus, pinning him up against the wall, and shutting up that arrogant, sardonic mouth with a brutal kiss. He'd wondered what Rufus would do if he tried it – the president was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked, and good at martial arts, but Reno thought he could take him in a straight fight, especially now, with the stigma and all.

But now that he knew about Rufus' meetings with Tseng, Reno had to revise his fantasy, because it seemed that the Boss wouldn't struggle after all. What _would_ Rufus do? How far would he allow Reno to go? Surely Rufus Shinra wouldn't permit even Tseng to fuck him, let alone a slum-brat made good like Reno? Or was that the attraction? Was Rufus getting off on imagining himself slumming it, without deigning to soil his superior body with anything as gross as an actual person from the slums? Tseng was elegant, sophisticated, beautiful – and he did a damned convincing imitation of Reno. So why would Rufus need to humiliate himself by going to the original?

Reno's desire vanished, replaced by anger, and an uncharacteristic feeling of misery. People like Rufus Shinra were not for the likes of Reno – a petty slum-thief turned gangster with nothing to offer but a few street moves and a dogged sense of loyalty. Rufus was made for better things. Rufus was made for Tseng.

"What the fuck am I doing here?" Reno wondered. "It's not as though Tseng came after me – I just made myself so damned _available_… He must really… care for Rufus, to do that for him. Or else he really wants Rufus, and it's his fantasy too. I'm just the excuse – for both of them. C'mon, Reno – go to bed. Go into Edge tomorrow – find some hot chick. What's the betting, if I never mention it to Tseng again, he'll just let the whole thing go?"

Sighing, Reno got to his feet and turned to leave – at exactly the moment Tseng entered the room.

"Reno!"

"Boss."

"Boss?"

"Yeah – I think so. Don't you? This whole deal's way too fucked up for me." Reno's laugh was bitter. "Betcha never thought you'd hear a slum-slut like me say that, huh?" The red-haired Turk pushed past Tseng, but the director caught his arm. "Reno – wait."

"What?"

"We were – interrupted, earlier."

"Yeah. Good thing, I guess. Or Prince Rufus woulda had to go without…"

"You're jealous? Of Rufus?"

Reno couldn't be bothered to lie. "Of Rufus – for having you – of you, for having Rufus – yeah, I'm fucking jealous! But so what? I'm just Reno – I'm up for anything I can get, right?"

"Reno – don't." Tseng smiled, and something in Reno snapped. He launched himself at the director, propelling him backwards until he slammed into the wall. "You think this is funny?" Reno growled.

Tseng didn't resist. "No."

He let Reno hold him, wrists crushed against the wall in the traps of Reno's hands, and looked at the younger Turk with such heat in his dark eyes that Reno's desire ignited instantly. Reno pressed close, kissed Tseng hard, as he'd imagined kissing Rufus, then pulled away and released Tseng's hands.

"I can't," he said. "I can't. This is so fucked up. You've just been with him – haven't you?"

"Yes. He… needs me. He _wants _you – but…" Tseng hesitated. "I want you, too. It was always you I wanted."

"What do you mean _always_? How long's this shit been going down, man?"

"With Rufus – not long. About three weeks. But me wanting you… Years. I'd say it started not long after I became director – once Veld left. When I decided to appoint you as my second, it was purely on merit. But not long after that, I began to think of you in ways that I thought were… inappropriate. Ways that would jeopardise our working relationship. And… I thought you only liked girls, in any case."

Reno shook his head. "Not only."

"Feeling as I did – I was probably harder on you than I would have been otherwise. Dropping the plate –"

Reno flinched when Tseng mentioned the plate. Years past - and still it never got any easier to live with that memory.

"I would have spared you that," said Tseng, softly. "But how could I? I was under orders to bring in Aerith, and you were next in the command chain."

"Yeah." Reno looked at Tseng, his anger melting away. "I never blamed you for that. Like you say – it was my place."

"Well – anyway. I'm sorry."

"For that? Or for this?"

"Both. Reno… " Tseng sighed. "I'll go."

"No…" Reno gave Tseng a tentative smile. "All this time?" he asked.

"Yes. And then Rufus asked me to be you – and I understood his desire, because I shared it."

"But why did you agree?"

"Because Rufus is why we're still here. Rufus is the one with the vision. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him. You – feel that too, don't you? Or why are you here?"

Reno looked down at his hands and gave a little shrug. "Yeah – I guess. Don't get me wrong – he can be an arrogant little bastard at times – but – yeah. Tell me one thing though. Did he ever want me? Or just you, pretending to be me?"

"He wanted you. But I think he thought you'd be… disgusted."

"No…" said Reno, slowly. "Shocked – yeah. But… Rufus is hot. He should've just asked!"

"You'd have agreed?"

"Yeah. But I never imagined – either of you…"

"I think that for Rufus it started after we moved here. Being so close…"

"So all that crap about the reports?"

"Just an excuse to see you."

"And I was so pissed!"

Tseng smiled. "You're good when you're angry. Sexy."

So, Reno was more than a convenient fantasy – for both of them. Looking at Tseng, he admitted, "I never knew I wanted you until I saw you on the security camera I installed to find out who was taking my stuff. You were leaning back in my chair – drinking my whiskey. I don't think I'd ever really looked at you before – not properly. Your eyes…"

"If you knew the number of times I've called up your file just to look at your photograph…"

Reno put his hand on Tseng's cheek. "Years…" he murmured. Leaning forward, he kissed Tseng with gentle passion. When he pulled away, he smiled. "Tseng," he said, low and sexy, and somehow sweet, " C'mon. My room. Let's go finish what we started, yo."

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**Please R&R?**

**Next: Rufus gets what he wants at last!**


	8. Chapter 8

**As promised - Rufus gets his way.**

**Warnings: Rated M with reason. Rufus and Reno - sex and cursing. Sounds fun!**

**Male/male of course!**

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The morning light was too hard, blade-edged, slicing the cool dark of Reno's room into horizontal slivers as it knifed through the blinds. Sometimes Reno longed for the old days – for Midgar's moody twilight. Rolling over with an extravagant yawn, he was suddenly stilled by the sight of Tseng sleeping – long black hair loose over the white pillow, his face gentled by unconsciousness. Reno leaned over to kiss him awake, and watched, holding his breath, as Tseng stirred. Those intense dark eyes opened and met bright turquoise.

"Reno."

"Tseng. You… stayed."

"Hmm. Did you think -?"

"Wasn't sure." Reno smiled as Tseng reached up to run gentle fingers through his wild red hair, before drawing him down into a long kiss, that became more kisses, that became more than kisses.

Much later Reno leaned back against the headboard with a contented sigh, and offered his packet of cigarettes to Tseng, grinning wryly at the cliché, before taking one himself and reaching for his lighter. Tseng smiled, leaning close so that Reno could light them together.

After a while, Reno said, "Suppose you _can't_ stay – with Rufus?"

"No. Morning would rather… shatter the illusion."

"Don't you _mind_?"

"Like I said – I'd do anything for him. Reno…"

Reno shook his head, pushing soft red hair out of his eyes. "Nah, I'm not gonna bitch. It's okay. I just… What's going to happen with that?"

"Unless we find a cure, there's not much time left. I'll be with him, as long as he needs me."

"Yeah." Reno took a long drag on his cigarette, and didn't look at Tseng as he asked, "You think _I _should, maybe?"

Tseng glanced at Reno, startled. His eyes slid away and for a long moment he was silent. At last he said, "I know it's what he wants. I couldn't deny… If you were willing to."

Reno sighed. Ever since this whole crazy thing had started, he'd been unable to pin down his feelings anyway. Did he _want_ Rufus? Part of him sure as hell did. But that part had got him into trouble plenty of times in the past. Point was – Rufus wanted him. That was the only point that mattered, really.

Reno nodded slowly, mind made up. "Okay," he said, looking at Tseng, smiling to cover a nagging sense of doubt. "Couple of things I need to know."

While Tseng was in the shower, Reno stole his PHS and sent a text to Rufus. If this was going to happen, it was going to happen on Reno's terms.

Reno had never been big on sex with the lights off, anyway. And just because he happened to be expert at spying and surveillance didn't mean he liked his own life complicated. "Time to get things out in the open," he thought, grinning at the irony as he slipped Tseng's PHS back into the pocket of the director's suit pants. When Tseng emerged from the bathroom, smooth skin glistening and black hair glossy and wet, Reno was lying back on the bed, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling with wide-eyed innocence, as though he'd never had a devious thought in his life.

x.x.x.x.x.x

Using the code Tseng had given him, Reno slipped into Rufus' room and closed the door behind him. Tseng hadn't been kidding about the dark – Reno could see nothing at all.

"Yo, Boss!" said Reno, into the darkness.

"Reno." His name, spoken in that soft, silky tone, sent a shudder of desire through him.

Reno approached the bed, moving in the direction of that seductive voice.

"So Boss – you miss me?" Reno asked, as he reached the edge of the bed.

"Always," Rufus answered. "Sometimes, you're all that keeps me going."

Reno was surprised by such an openly emotional admission. He sat on the edge of the bed and found Rufus' hand. Raising it to his mouth, he kissed the palm. Rufus' fingers curled around Reno's cheek, thumb rubbing over his lower lip. Reno licked it, skin soft, and blunt nail hard against his tongue. "That's not quite true is it?" Reno said quietly. "I'm not _all_ that keeps you going."

"What do you mean?" Rufus asked, his other hand grasping Reno's lapel, pulling him down. Reno bent to find Rufus' mouth. Just before their lips met he murmured, "I think you had a little help from Tseng, yo!"

Before Rufus could reply, Reno kissed him. For a moment Rufus was frozen. Then he yielded to the kiss, which was deep, and hard-edged, and slow – and despite the familiar, faint taste of cigarettes, absolutely nothing like Tseng's. Running his hands through Reno's hair, Rufus' fingers stroked the nape of his neck until he found the long tail and wound it around one hand, just as he'd always imagined doing.

"Reno!" he gasped.

Reno laughed, low and sexy. "Well – sure as hell ain't Rude or Elena, Boss!" He kissed Rufus again, pushing him down onto the bed. "You know – you only had to ask," he murmured into Rufus' ear, licking his earlobe and trailing little, sucking kisses under his jaw hard enough to leave marks. Rufus made a soft sound that was almost a moan.

"Ah, Gaia, Reno!" he exclaimed, "I want…"

"Yeah? Tell me what, Boss. 'Cause - don't ask, don't get, yo!"

The words were so close to what Rufus had imagined Reno saying that his breath caught.

"I want you to fuck me, Reno," Rufus said, his voice rough with need. "Fuck me so hard I forget everything else. Make me - _burn_."

This time Reno's laugh held a dark edge that make Rufus shiver. "So," Reno hissed, a sound like the striking of a match, "That's how it is, huh? Well, maybe, Boss. Just one thing though…"

"Yes?" Rufus' voice was tight with anticipation.

"We put the gods-damned lights on. 'Cause – fucking one of the sexiest people on the planet in the dark – that's just one hell of a waste, yeah?"

Rufus hesitated. Reno suddenly understood and said, "Doesn't bother me, Boss. Let me see you."

Reno heard Rufus' indrawn breath. Then there was a click, and soft lamplight illuminated the area around the bed. Rufus gazed up at Reno, who was lying propped on one elbow, looking down at him. Reno's appreciative smile was every bit as slow and sexy as Rufus had always imagined it would be.

"That's better," Reno said, stroking a finger down Rufus' cheek and along his lips. Rufus just looked at him, eyes moving hungrily over Reno's face – the fiery red of his hair and those curved tattoos, his sharp, green eyes and that beautiful, sensuous mouth…

"Sexiest – on the planet," Rufus murmured.

Desire flickered hot in Reno's eyes, and ignited pure lust in Rufus, but the president made no move, only waited, breathless.

Reno's hand rested lightly for a moment on the spotless white bandage around Rufus' throat. The other marks of the stigma were concealed in the same manner – gauzy dressings covering Rufus' chest beneath the half-undone black shirt he was wearing. Another white strip was wound tightly around his right wrist. The only places where the dark, bruise-like marks were visible were on the president's hands.

Reno bent to kiss the smooth, flawless skin at the base of Rufus' throat, between the bandage around his neck and the one that bound his chest. "Fuck!" he murmured in honest admiration, "There's really nothing you can't wear well, is there?"

Rufus ran his fingers through all that red hair, surprised at its softness, as Reno laid his head on Rufus' shoulder for a moment in a way that was almost peaceful.

As they lay together like that, Reno opened the buttons of Rufus' shirt one after another, taking his time, moving lower to unfasten a belt buckle, another button, a zipper. Beneath his palm, Reno felt promising heat that awoke an answering flame in him too, but he didn't touch – not yet. Rufus wanted to burn – well, Reno knew fire. He knew the instant consummation of electricity – the blue lightning that was over before it began. He understood the unpredictable forces of explosions – the violence of wildfires – flames that danced in flurries, or raged as tall as buildings, or rolled in waves, like water. Reno understood, as perhaps Tseng and Rufus did not, the devastation that could result from the smallest beginnings – the way slow smouldering could spark a sudden tiny flame that would take hold quietly, spread and grow, becoming wild and dangerous and impossible to control, until it seemed the whole world was a conflagration.

When it came to starting fires, Reno was an artist.

Rufus thrust his hips upwards shamelessly, seeking the contact promised by the heat of Reno's hovering hand – but all he got was the briefest touch before both Reno's hands were in his hair, and the Turk's tongue was pressing hot and insistent into his mouth. Rufus ran his fingers through Reno's fiery hair and pulled him even closer, kissing hard, wanting Reno deeper. Lost in the pleasure of each other's mouths, Reno and Rufus kissed until sparks dazzled at the edges of Rufus' vision and Reno's eyes went dazed and dark. When Reno finally pulled away on a long, shuddering breath, Rufus caught at air, open mouthed.

Reno ran one hand slowly along the contours of Rufus' chest, drifting teasing fingers over the hard muscles of his abdomen. Slipping his hand below the waistband of Rufus' boxers, Reno paused to tug gently at golden-brown curls before reaching for the hot, heavy weight of Rufus' cock. Rufus arched up into Reno's light touch, unashamed of how much raw lust he felt. Reno stroked Rufus' hard flesh with the palm of his hand, refusing to squeeze, and Rufus gave a little moan of frustration, bucking his hips, trying to increase the pressure on his throbbing dick. Reno only smiled and murmured, "So fired up already, Boss? But – don't wanna rush it, yo."

Reno's fingers were quick as they eased down the heavy material of Rufus' white suit pants and the warm cotton of his boxers, then slow as they traced a feather-soft path back up the insides of his thighs and over his balls.

Rufus gasped and whispered, "Shiva! Come _on_, Reno!"

"What?" Reno wondered, fingering Rufus' cock too gently, his smile wicked, "So - your _other_ Reno just gave it to you hard and fast, yeah?"

"Hm," Rufus agreed, teeth clenched against building frustration as Reno only thumbed the head of his dick in slow, lazy circles, "Hard and… uh… fast. Like I _want_ it."

Reno's long hair fell soft and heavy over Rufus' chest as the Turk second-in-command pressed slow kisses into the taut warm skin of the president's belly. Looking up at Rufus, Reno shook his head, green eyes flashing a heady mix of lust and amusement.

"Not how I see this one going, Boss."

"But-"

"Shh."

Rufus might have been about to protest – no-one had ever gotten away with shushing Rufus Shinra – but then Reno's mouth found his cock and the words he'd been forming broke apart and scattered, leaving him speechless. Reno licked him slowly, breathing in the scent of soap and heat and _Rufus_, thinking hazily about how damn good he tasted. When Rufus tensed and gave a soft moan he was clearly trying to hold back, Reno was taken by surprise by the strength of his body's response – the sudden intensity of the ache in his own groin. For a moment he was tempted to forget about taking things slowly: the urge to give Rufus what he wanted – do it hard and quick and dirty – was very strong. But that would be exactly what Rufus expected of him – the way Tseng had acted him – the way everyone thought a punk from the slums would do it all the time. Well – Tseng knew different now. And Rufus was going to learn.

Reno began to suck Rufus deep and slow – gradually increasing the pressure, but still not hard or fast enough to relieve the steadily building tension burning in Rufus' gut. Rufus caught at Reno's hair, pulled him down hard, whispered, "Fuck, Reno – _please_…"

Reno let Rufus have his way for three hard thrusts, feeling the warning stiffening along the shaft swelling in his mouth, then pulled free, pressing his fingers to the base of Rufus' cock before the president could lose it. Rufus threw his head back against the pillow with a cry of frustration.

"Reno – you _bastard _– I swear –"

Reno shut him up with a hard kiss, just like he'd always wanted to, and Rufus didn't resist, one hand on the back of Reno's head and the other slipping under Reno's jacket and shirt to trail the length of his spine. Reno sat back, straddling Rufus, who gazed up at him, blue eyes dark, and his hands on Reno's hips. Reno shrugged off his jacket and let it fall to the floor beside the bed. Rufus reached up to undo the buttons of his shirt one handed, keeping his other hand on Reno's hip, gripping hard. The long red tail of Reno's hair was bright over his left shoulder. As soon as the white shirt was undone, Rufus reached for Reno's hair and stroked it slowly. "I imagined you like this," Rufus said, his voice calmer, but still a little rough.

Reno leaned forward slightly to grind against Rufus. "Yeah?" he asked, with that cocky grin that infuriated Rufus and made him as horny as hell. "What was I doing?"

"You wouldn't let me have what I wanted then, either."

Reno shook his head, smiling. "But, Boss, I _am_ giving you what you want. Aren't I? You wanted to burn, yeah?" Reno leaned down to kiss Rufus again, flicking his tongue over Rufus' warm lips before pushing inside the welcoming heat of his mouth. Rufus thrust his pelvis up against Reno's hardness, and the Turk laughed softly, his mouth still almost on Rufus'. "You seem pretty damn close to catching fire, yo!"

"Yes," Rufus gasped, his usual detached, slightly amused expression replaced by something that was almost desperate. "So do it, Reno – for fuck's sake!"

Reno looked into Rufus' blue eyes and saw that he meant it. "You got it, Boss," he said quietly, shifting to lie beside Rufus for a moment as he shucked off the rest of his clothes, and rolled back onto his side, watching as Rufus kicked away the pants and boxers that were already half off in any case. Reno made no comment when Rufus kept the open black shirt on – he figured it made the boss feel better if the bandages covering the marks of the stigma were mainly concealed – but Rufus was still gorgeous even with the sickness.

Reno knelt on the bed beside Rufus and bent to kiss him again. "So, Boss," he murmured, "You want lube? Or you wanna suck me nice and wet?"

"Fuck, yes – that!" Rufus said, moving onto his side and sliding an arm around Reno's narrow waist as he took the Turk's aching cock deep into his mouth. Reno gasped at the pleasure of the sensation, and the sight of Rufus Shinra – fucking _Rufus Shinra_ – with his beautiful mouth wrapped around Reno's dick. It was almost too much – and after a few glorious strokes, Reno touched Rufus' cheek gently and stammered, "O - okay, Boss."

Rufus lay back on the pillows, lips flushed and full, eyes dark with longing. Reno moved to kneel between Rufus' legs and leaned down to kiss him, deep and hard, and a little more frantic than he'd intended. Rufus moaned into Reno's kiss as Reno entered him; threw his head back as Reno began to move, blue eyes closing for a moment.

"Rufus!"

When Reno said his name, Rufus' eyes flew open – locked on to Reno's green gaze.

"Reno."

Reno thrust harder, deeper, never taking his eyes from Rufus'. The Turk's strong, slender hand wrapped around Rufus' cock, moving in a steady rhythm against the motion of his hips. Rufus' breath came in short, torn gasps. This was everything he had wanted – pleasure so intense that it was almost pain – a fire of ecstasy that burned brighter than the agony of the stigma – Reno - making him burn.

"Reno!"

Rufus came so hard that his vision fractured into shards of light and dark like splintered glass. A second later, Reno followed him, his incoherent moan followed by a whispered, "Fuck, Boss!" that was almost reverent.

Rufus lay sated in Reno's arms, his blond head resting on the Turk's chest. Reno stroked his hair with one hand, smiling, content.

"Good…" Reno murmured.

"Yes."

"Mmm."

There was silence for a while, then Rufus asked, "Did Tseng tell you?"

"C'mon Boss – do you really have to ask that? Tseng would never betray you. I'm head of security, yo – I'm good at my job. I figured it out when I realised someone was borrowing my stuff – my cigarettes and whiskey. I set up a camera –"

Rufus froze. "A camera?"

"Relax, Boss. Not here – in the office. Caught Tseng pretending to be me. After that it wasn't hard to piece together what had been going on. When I confronted him with the evidence, how could he deny it, really?"

"I see. And does Tseng know you're here now?"

"No. He knows I was planning on coming – but not when."

"So the text, changing the time?"

"I sent it. I stole Tseng's PHS…" Reno paused for a second before adding, "While he was in the shower."

"Ah. So – you – him?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. I bet you're good together."

Reno kissed Rufus and said, "I think we'll all be good together, yo!"

"What do you mean?"

Reno smiled. "I didn't tell Tseng I'd sent that message. He still thinks he's meeting you this evening. In fact, he should be here any –"

There was a soft knock on the door.

"- minute now."

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**TBC**

**One more chapter to go! **

**I'll try to update faster this time : )**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the long delay, once again. But - at last - it's finished!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed and/or favourited this fic. It means a great deal. This is the first longish fic I've actually finished. Thank you all for your support and patience. **

**As Licoriceallsorts so rightly pointed out, it seemed unfair to leave poor Rude and Elena doing nothing but playing cards - so there's a little Rude/Elena here. But this _is_ primarily a yaoi fic, so I'm afraid I've had to leave the details of what they get up to to your (I'm sure active) imaginations... If you'd like me to write it in a separate fic, I could...**

**This is also the first threesome I've ever written. It was hard ^^. I hope I've managed to, er, pull it off...**

**Warnings: mainly male people having sex in twos and threes. What can I say? **

**

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Elena set down her cards with a little smile, and looked up at Rude. Her smile widened to a triumphant grin. "Straight flush! I win!"

Rude nodded, and pushed the pile of Gil across the coffee table without resentment. "When did you get so good at poker? You must've been spending too much time with Reno."

"No – I've hardly seen him lately. The Boss keeps sending him on these really boring missions…"

"Hm. Rufus…" Rude began.

"Rufus what?"

Rude shook his head slowly. "No. I'm probably wrong."

"Oh, come on Rude. You can't start saying something interesting and then just stop! What _about_ Rufus? Something to do with Reno?"

Rude said nothing. Elena looked at him carefully, but his poker face was back in place, and pretty much unreadable.

"Okay. Then I'm going to guess…"

"It's nothing."

"So tell me!"

"No."

"Okay." Elena got to her feet, and wandered in the direction of the kitchen. "Nother beer?"

"Yeah – thanks."

Elena returned with two opened bottles and handed one to Rude, setting her own down on the coffee table. Lacing her fingers behind her back she stretched, muscles tired from sitting in one position playing cards for the last two hours. Rude tried not to notice the way her back arched; the intriguing pull of her dove-grey silk top over high, nicely rounded breasts; her neat form.

_Shiva,_ he thought, _I need to get laid! Damn car… Not good when you start looking at your colleagues. No wonder Reno was… sorting himself out, earlier. I wonder if Rufus…"_

"Did Reno do something to piss Rufus off?" Elena asked, turning quickly to observe Rude's response. But Rude only shook his head, unflustered. "No more than usual, as far as I know."

"No…" Elena looked thoughtful. "In fact, the Boss seemed quite pleased about winning that bet. What was all that stuff about _really_? With the plants?"

"I'm not sure. Just Reno being Reno probably. He has a low boredom threshold."

"Hmm." Elena perched on the edge of the coffee table and picked up her beer. Head on one side, she looked at Rude, eyes narrowed. "Okay, big guy, how much of an interrogation is this going to have to be?"

Rude leaned forward, hands clasped together, and returned Elena's gaze, his own eyes barely visible behind the dark lenses of his glasses.

"Your eyes are brown, but your sister's are green aren't they?" he asked.

"Huh. She'd say _aquamarine_. _I_'_ve_ always thought of them as more grey-green. Like pond water. Or sludge. _Reno's_ are aquamarine."

"Women always like Reno's eyes."

Elena shook her head. "Not me. I mean, they're pretty, but I prefer dark eyes."

"Like the Director's?"

Elena tossed her head, but there was no real discontent behind the gesture. "_Again?_ Doesn't that line of teasing ever get old for you and Reno?"

"Never."

Elena sighed. "I _did_ have a bit of a crush on Tseng. I admit it, okay? Back when I was a rookie, and he was just so…" Elena's expression softened for a moment. "But I grew out of it. Anyway – does Tseng even _have_ sex? He hardly ever comes out with the rest of us – and even when he does, I've never seen him leave with anyone."

"Whatever the Director does, he does discretely."

"True." Elena smiled. "He's like anti-Reno. I can't remember when Reno ever came out with us and _didn't_ leave with someone! And as for the Boss…"

It was the tiniest of responses – a mere twitch of the eyebrows, and a sudden moment of stillness – but Elena pounced on it instantly. "I knew it! That's what you were going to say – something about Rufus' sex life!" Then she frowned, puzzled. "But what's that got to do with Re – NO!"

Rude had never seen such a perfect caricature of disbelief. Elena's mouth had fallen open in an astonished O. In spite of her comical expression, Rude found himself thinking that she had a very pretty mouth, even now, gaping like a goldfish. Without pausing to think, he put one finger gently under her chin and tilted her jaw up so that her mouth closed. Her lips looked soft, their coral pink shade natural, he thought. Elena rarely wore much makeup, even on their evenings out; her delicate colouring didn't need it. Rude wondered what it would be like to kiss her, then tried to make himself concentrate on what she was saying, because kissing Elena would definitely be a bad idea. Wouldn't it? He was sure it would – but at this precise moment, he couldn't seem to remember why.

"Rude?"

"Um – yes. Sorry…"

"I said, 'You can't _seriously_ think there's anything going on between Rufus and Reno!' I mean – _Reno?_ Come on! He always leaves bars and clubs with women."

"_Almost_ always. But that's not what I was going to say. I think Rufus has… I don't know what you'd call it. A crush? I know it doesn't sound like the Boss…"

"You think _Rufus _has a crush on Reno? No way!"

"Rufus watches him – all the time – when he thinks no one's looking." Rude didn't say any more, but he remembered an incident two weeks ago, when he'd been getting a photo from a file in the corner of the office. He'd been quiet, because Reno was asleep on the battered couch, having been up all night on a surveillance mission watching some quack doctor who'd claimed to have found a cure for geostigma, and who was fleecing desperate people in Edge. Rufus wanted him under surveillance until he was sure that the potion the guy was selling was definitely a dud. Half hidden behind the clutter of desks, crouched by the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, Rude had seen Rufus open the office door. He'd been about to greet the boss, when Rufus had caught sight of Reno, and the look on his face had stopped Rude dead. Rufus had stayed motionless by the door as seconds ticked by, gazing at Reno with a look of naked hunger that was a shocking contrast to his normally carefully guarded expression. Then the Boss had let out a long breath, and turned away, closing the office door quietly behind him. Rude had waited a few seconds before straightening with a soft curse and stretching the cramp out of his left calf muscle.

"You must be imagining it!" Elena told him. "Rufus and Reno? No! No, no, no."

"I'm not imagining it. I'm sure Rufus wants Reno. I don't know if Reno knows, or what he'd do about it if he did."

"Don't tell him! At best it would make things awkward. At worst we'd never hear the end of it. Reno's bad enough just thinking all the _women_ fancy him – imagine what he'd be like if he thought all the guys did too!"

"I'm not going to tell him."

"Good." Elena sipped her beer, and moved to sit next to Rude on the sofa. "Just 'cause he's easy on the eye, Reno thinks he can get away with anything!"

"You think Reno's easy on the eye?" Rude raised his eyebrows and Elena laughed. "Yes, sure. If you like that pretty-boy look. Personally, _I _wouldn't want a guy who spends longer on his hair than I do."

"Well – I guess that would make me your ideal man then," Rude observed, with a small, self-deprecating smile.

Elena turned and looked him up and down, head on one side, smiling. "Yes – pretty much the complete package. Shame we're colleagues. And I'm hardly your ideal woman, am I? Kind of lacking in Tifa Lockheart-style assets…"

Rude groaned. "Don't bring that up!"

"You mentioned Tseng first. Your Tifa crush was at least as big as my Tseng one!"

"Okay, you're right. But… that was a long time ago, like you said. Back when you were just a rookie who couldn't keep a secret to save her life."

"Hey!" Elena set down her beer bottle, noticing with some surprise, that it was empty. "That's not true!"

"And I quote: 'Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbour'…"

"Oh give me a fucking _break_! Didn't I get enough stick from Tseng for that? And then the pair of you - nonstop. You know, last time we went into Edge I had the, 'Hey – where're we _heading_, Laney?' line from Reno, and two seconds later you get in the car and it's, 'So – where is it we're heading Elena? Exactly?' And then Reno winds the window down: 'Make sure you say it loud enough Laney – or Strife might not hear you!' I mean, I wouldn't mind – but Reno wasn't even there!"

Rude nodded. "I guess we do lay it on a bit thick. But it was funny." Looking at her thoughtfully, Rude added, "You know – swearing doesn't suit you."

"_What_? Oh – so first you endlessly take the piss out of me for talking too much, and now you're telling me _how_ to talk as well?"

"No – didn't mean that. It's just…"

Elena knew that Rude and Reno loved winding her up to watch the inevitable reaction. One of the things she had found so compelling about Tseng from the start was the way he always seemed so calm – although since those early days she had seen him lose his temper on a handful of occasions. Rude shared the Director's generally unflappable nature, while Elena always found it difficult to hide her feelings. Aware that she was on the edge of being drunk, and trying hard to keep a dignified demeanour, she looked at Rude and said, "It's just what? Because I'm a woman?"

"No. Plenty of women curse a blue streak. You should have heard Scarlet in the old days whenever anyone crossed her. It's… just not your style."

"Right. And what is my style, exactly, Rude?"

Rude knew the danger signs: Elena's golden-brown eyes were very bright, and her pale cheeks were touched with a faint rosy flush that would darken when she got really angry. She was sitting up straight, shoulders back, in a confrontational pose that made it difficult for Rude to keep his eyes on her face.

"You're more… I don't know. You're just… better than that."

"Oh!" That hadn't been at all what she was expecting. She relaxed, just a fraction, looking at Rude curiously, uncertain. "You want to be careful," she told him with a little smile that didn't quite match the expression in her eyes. "That almost sounded like a compliment."

"Hm. I think it was one."

"Right." Elena looked down at her hands, and Rude's eyes followed her gaze. Tiny hands, Rude thought – deceptively fragile-looking. He knew from experience the kind of punch Elena could deliver: she hadn't won all those elite emblems at the academy for nothing. Her fingers were pale and slender, the neatly filed, unvarnished nails delicate and pink as the translucent shells scattered along the tide line in Costa del Sol. Without giving himself time to think about it, Rude took Elena's right hand in his own, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. Elena didn't move – didn't object – only watched, registering the difference in scale between them - the way his thumb was longer than her whole hand was wide – noticing the pleasing contrast between the caramel richness of his skin and the creamy pallor of her own.

Rude's other hand came up to cup her cheek, her skin warm beneath his cool fingers.

"Tell me to stop," Rude said, almost as though he wanted her to. Elena closed her eyes, turning her head to kiss his palm. "Don't stop," she murmured, her words muffled against his hand. With gentle pressure he turned her face towards his own, and kissed her parted lips - a softly asked question. She looked at him then, reaching up to take off his sunglasses. His eyes were deep brown flecked with amber and gold.

"Don't stop," she said again, certain, definite.

.~~~~~~.

Reno looked at Rufus, and gave him another one of those smiles that set his pulse skipping. "Switch off the light," he whispered.

"Really?"

"Yeah." The undertone of dangerous laughter in Reno's voice shot lust through Rufus again, bullet-fast. Reaching for the light switch, Rufus wondered how it had happened: tonight he seemed unable – or unwilling - to assert himself. Instead he found that he wanted to allow anything Reno suggested – especially when Reno's suggestions were so damned good.

Quietly Reno rolled over Rufus in the sudden darkness, pausing on top of him for a hasty, breathless kiss, before settling down on the side of the bed usually occupied by his boss.

Tseng opened the door and closed it quickly behind him. Reno nudged Rufus, who said, "Reno?"

"Yo, Boss."

Reno had to admit that, apart from Tseng's voice being slightly deeper than his own, it sounded a hell of a lot like him. Almost gasping aloud when Rufus' teeth nipped his earlobe, Reno shivered as he felt a cool hand stroking his thigh, moving upwards with tantalising slowness. Into the darkness, Rufus said calmly, "Reno – I've been thinking about you."

"Yeah?" Tseng's reply sounded exactly like Reno's most casual drawl.

"Yes. Kiss me."

Reno reached into the darkness, trying to ignore the building excitement as Rufus' hand on his thigh moved higher. Then Tseng's hand caught Reno's and lifted it to his face. Reno ran his fingers over the newly familiar contours of Tseng's cheek and lips. Tseng tensed, suddenly aware that something was different – a scent – a taste – that he knew intimately, but that was not Rufus.

"Boss?" he asked, uncertain.

"Well - if you're Reno, guess I must be," replied Reno, pulling Tseng down into a long kiss before he could struggle or protest. Reno had to hold back a little moan of pure pleasure as Rufus' hand closed tight around his cock while he kissed the Director hard and slow.

"Reno!" gasped Tseng when he was finally released. Reno laughed, and reached for the light switch. "_Am_ I?" he asked, doing a good impression of being genuinely confused. "I'm not really sure any more. Guess we'd better have a look."

Rufus let go of Reno and pulled the sheet over his semi-naked body as soft lamplight illuminated Tseng's face. The Director's expression was difficult to read as he looked down at Reno, then across at Rufus, then back at Reno – surprise mixed with a trace of amusement and undeniable desire – but something else too. As he looked down at his subordinate who gazed up at him from Rufus Shinra's bed, all that wonderful red hair loose and disordered from whatever he'd already been doing with the president, Tseng experienced an instant of doubt, and saw it reflected in Reno's eyes. But then Reno smiled, and said, "Good. So – Rufus, this is Tseng. You might know him as Reno – but – there's only one Reno, yo!"

Instinctively understanding that he needed to take charge for the moment, Reno gestured to the other side of the bed, and Tseng moved automatically, never questioning Reno's unspoken order, so that Rufus lay between his two senior Turks. Immediately Tseng's uncertainty was gone: this was how things were supposed to be - the president flanked by people whose sole purpose was to keep him safe, Tseng at his right hand, Reno at his left, eternally his bodyguards. "And if we can't protect him from the disease," Tseng thought, "At lease we can keep the pain away for a while." Suddenly tender, he kissed Rufus for the first time as himself, and not as an imagined version of Reno.

"Tseng…" Rufus murmured, his hand against Tseng's cheek - "I knew it had to be you – but I was never sure. You were so good…"

"Yeah," said Reno, stretching, relaxed, also feeling that things were beginning to settle into their proper places. "He's good. Good at being Reno – but better at being Tseng, yo. So – we gonna chat all night, or what?"

Tseng gave an amused chuckle and Rufus laughed.

"What?" asked Reno.

"_You're_ accusing _us_ of talking too much?" Rufus said, raising his eyebrows incredulously.

"Yep," Reno replied, unabashed. "Way too much." Rolling onto his front, Reno looked down at Rufus and flashed that devastating smile again. "So shut up and kiss me," he said.

Rufus did as he was told, taking his time, his desire sharpened by the acute awareness of Tseng's gaze, as present to his senses as a physical touch, making his skin tingle. At last Rufus pulled back and looked up at Reno, his blue eyes focussed on the soft curve of Reno's lower lip. Reaching up, Rufus ran one finger along it, slowly. "Fuck, Reno," he murmured – "Your mouth… It was always about your mouth…"

Reno's smile was wicked. "Anywhere you want it, Boss. Only have to ask…"

Rufus shook his head. "I believe you're responsible for this…interesting situation. You decide."

Unfazed, Reno reached across Rufus, took Tseng's hand and guided it to Rufus' cheek. Tseng leaned over to kiss Rufus again, and Rufus threaded his fingers through Tseng's hair, releasing it from its low, Reno-style ponytail, letting it fall soft and heavy around their faces, spilling, fluid and ink-black, over the white pillow.

Reno watched Tseng and Rufus kissing, not sure exactly how he felt about it. Tseng was beautiful – Rufus was gorgeous – objectively they made a pretty damned irresistible sight. But there was a part of Reno that wanted Tseng off Rufus and in his own arms – something that looked at the Director – the smooth sweep of his long, black hair, the way his fingers lingered on Rufus' cheek, the memory of those now-familiar kisses – and whispered, "_mine"_. Smiling to himself, Reno dismissed the jealous impulse with an internal shrug. "He's mine – I'm his – but, comes down to it, we're both Rufus's," he thought. "We always were. Tseng's right – as usual. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Rufus."

Rufus' fingers tightened in Tseng's hair, pulling him closer. Reno leaned over and pressed his lips against the back of Rufus' hand where the pale skin contrasted so starkly with the bruise-black stains of the stigma. He allowed himself one moment, inhaling the wonderful scent of Tseng's hair, before murmuring, "Tseng… let me get you out of my jacket, huh? It's not a great fit…"

Reno helped to remove the too-snug jacket as Tseng continued to kiss Rufus. Rufus' fingers were working to undo the three fastened buttons of Tseng's shirt. As Reno peeled off the shirt, letting it drop to the floor beside the jacket, he couldn't resist running his hand over the hard muscles of Tseng's shoulder, and the smooth, golden skin of his back. His breath caught as he was hijacked by a flood of almost overwhelming desire for Tseng – a yearning to fit his naked body to the graceful curve of Tseng's spine, to lose himself again in all that black silk hair, pressing his mouth into the warmth of Tseng's neck.

But that wasn't what Reno was doing in Rufus' bed. Tonight was all about the Boss – making Rufus feel alive again – giving him a moment's release – however brief – from the relentless advance of geostigma's pain.

Lost in each other for the present, Rufus and Tseng's kisses grew more urgent. Reno ran his hand lightly over Rufus' torso beneath the open black shirt, trailing his fingers over Rufus' abdomen, wondering again at the physical perfection of the man everywhere that was untouched by the stigma. Reno's tongue followed the path of his fingers, sliding over Rufus' belly, exploring the contrasting textures of soft skin and hard muscle.

When he reached Rufus' already hard cock, Reno sucked it gently, eyes closed, simply enjoying the sensation, his tongue moving lazily over firm, hot flesh. Hearing Rufus' sharply in-drawn breath, Reno opened his eyes to see both Rufus and Tseng looking down at him. Rufus' blue eyes sparked mako-bright; Tseng's were smoke-dark, smouldering.

Reno let Rufus' beautiful cock slip out of his mouth, stroking it slowly instead with the palm of his hand.

"Kinda lonely down here," he stated, meeting Tseng's dark gaze with a little smile and a suggestively raised eyebrow.

Tseng glanced at Rufus, who murmured, "Fuck – yes!"

Tseng kissed Rufus again, his tongue sliding against Rufus' like a promise. Then he pressed his lips against Rufus' jaw – the base of his throat – trailing kisses downwards over the President's chest, his flat stomach, the concave curve below his hipbone…

Reno's hand tangled in Tseng's hair; drew him into a soft, lingering kiss – the only one they would share tonight – enough to reassure them both that this was right. Reno smiled at Tseng, then ran his fingers lightly over the taut muscles of Rufus' left thigh. Tseng mirrored the action on the right. Moving together, Reno and Tseng licked the length of Rufus' cock, one on either side. Rufus arched into the touch, breathless at the sight – the incredible sensation – of both of them focussed entirely on giving him pleasure.

Reno moved back to lick and nip gently at Rufus' balls while Tseng took the President's aching cock deep into his mouth and sucked hard. Reno felt himself responding, stiffening again at the memory of the things Tseng's skilful tongue could do. Kneeling between Rufus' thighs, Reno asked, "You want more, Boss? You want me to fuck you again, maybe?"

Rufus' stuttering "Y-ye..ah…" was lost in a groan as Tseng's mouth distracted him from everything else, but it was enough for Reno. In one smooth movement Reno lifted Rufus' thighs up onto his own, thrust forward, and sheathed himself in the welcoming heat of Rufus' body. Tseng shifted to the side to make room, his hand replacing his mouth on Rufus' cock. Rufus cried out as Reno entered him, and Tseng paused for a moment, concerned, but Rufus only gasped, "D – don't stop!"

"No," Reno promised, throwing Rufus a razor-edged smile. "I remember Boss. We'll do it your way this time. Hard and fast – the way you like it."

Rufus didn't contradict Reno, although, since Reno had shown him different possibilities earlier in the evening, he had rather revised his opinion about the ways he liked it. _But this is sure as hell still one of them_, he thought, as Reno made good on his words and slammed him back down into the mattress. Tseng lay next to Rufus, his mouth on Rufus' again, giving him the deep, hard kisses that stole his breath and left him dizzy. The director's hand on his cock stroked him firmly, moving against the rhythm of Reno's powerful thrusts.

Reno moaned Rufus' name as he came and Rufus almost lost it then, but Tseng's hand stilled on his throbbing cock, and the director's calm voice in his ear said, "Not yet…"

"Tseng…" Rufus thought about protesting, but found that Tseng was right – he didn't want it to be over – not yet. He wondered at the shifting patterns of power and control between the three of them. At the start Rufus had given himself into Reno's hands, their normal hierarchy reversed – Reno directing, Tseng facilitating, and Rufus happy, for this one time in his life, to simply accept all that they gave him. But now things had changed again – Reno lay beside him panting, one arm flung over his eyes, temporarily out of action – and Rufus found himself waiting for Tseng to tell him what to do next.

But as though he could read Rufus' mind, Tseng moved away slightly and shook his head, looking down at the president thoughtfully. "I think you need to tell us, Sir," Tseng said. "Whatever you want. Me – or Reno –"

"I want you both," Rufus said. "I think I always did. Reno and Tseng – how could I choose between you?" Rufus got to his knees and leaned down to kiss Reno who smiled at him vaguely, still half lost in a post-orgasmic haze.

Tseng removed the rest of his clothes quickly, and then moved back to kneel behind Rufus. Pulling the black cotton shirt aside he kissed Rufus' neck, his face pressed into soft, pale hair, one hand reaching around to stroke the hard muscles of the president's abdomen below the bandage that covered his upper torso. Pressing his chest against Rufus' back, careful not to lean too hard on the spot below the left shoulder-blade where he knew the dressing covered a particularly painful geostigma wound, Tseng let his hand drift lower until he found the hard heat of Rufus' cock. Rufus tensed expectantly as he felt the insistent press of Tseng's erection against the base of his spine.

"Have us both," Tseng murmured, his mouth against Rufus' ear. "It's what we're here for – whatever you need."

Suddenly doubtful, Rufus admitted, "I don't know if I'm strong enough…"

"You're strong enough," Tseng told him, his voice steadying - gentle and firm.

Reno reached up and ran his fingers over Rufus' mouth. "C'mon Boss," he said, "It works both ways, yo. We both want you, too." He pressed up into Rufus' longing kiss, twining his fingers through fine golden hair. Rufus moved forward, Tseng's hand on his hip guiding him. Reno moaned softly as Rufus entered him, smooth and easy.

Rufus' fingers ghosted over Reno's still too-sensitive cock. Reno gasped, "Fuck, Boss…"

"Too much?"

"Just – give me a minute, yeah?"

Rufus kissed Reno again, as he felt Tseng beginning to push into him slowly. Rufus gasped, and Tseng held still until Rufus took a shuddering breath and whispered, "Y-yes… Okay…"

When Tseng began to move the pleasure was so intense that for a moment Rufus was sure he was about to pass out. For a while he could do nothing but let the experience take him, unable to move against Tseng or Reno. Gradually he settled, learning the pattern - the rhythmic thrusting of Tseng into him: of himself into Reno. He reached down to take Reno's cock in his hand, smiling when he found it was already hard again. "Damn, Reno!" he exclaimed in frank admiration, "That didn't take long!"

Reno shook red hair out of his eyes and grinned, panting with the force of Rufus' thrusts. "Can't – uh – keep a good Turk down…" he managed, before shuddering and biting his lip to suppress a moan of pure need. Rufus smiled, about to make some clever reply, but it turned into an unintelligible cry as Tseng began to move harder, faster, and little points of light started to fizz at the edges of Rufus' vision.

Rufus lost all track of time. He found himself gazing down at Reno spread out beneath him, lips parted, sea-green eyes wide and dazed. Long strands of crimson hair clung to the Turk's forehead and he had long ago given up trying to hold back the moans that spilled from that perfect mouth as Rufus moved inside him. Rufus thought he'd never seen anything as sexy as Reno losing control like this – never felt anything as intensely, deeply satisfying as this dual sensation of being enveloped and filled at the same time. Tseng's mouth was hot against Rufus' shoulder, pressed against yielding skin, the rhythm of the Director's hard thrusts controlling the motion of all three of them, carrying them inexorably towards orgasm. No pain could reach Rufus here – only overwhelming pleasure – pure sensual experience.

Reno's hand closed over Rufus' on his cock. "B – Boss," he stammered, "Please…"

"Hold on, Reno," Rufus told him, his own control close to breaking point. He tossed back sweat-damp blond hair, and looked into Reno's eyes, seeing the same growing desperation he had felt earlier, when Reno had been the one in charge. Tseng's guiding hand on Rufus' hip tightened. Rufus turned his head, and the Director's mouth met his, Tseng's fierce kiss hard and urgent. Rufus closed his eyes, gave himself up to sensation - losing himself – abandoning his eternal struggle for control – Reno and Tseng seeming part of him – Tseng and Reno setting him free.

"Come with me," he heard himself whisper, to Reno, to Tseng. Beneath him Reno cried out wordlessly, and Tseng's unrestrained moan was echoed by Rufus as they came together. Rufus felt that he was falling, that he was breaking into pieces like the shattering shards of his vision, fragments of light and darkness dancing behind his eyes… He fell forwards, utterly fractured, and Reno caught him; let him rest against his shoulder, fingers stroking his hair gently, until he began to come back to himself. Or were those Tseng's fingers, Tseng's lips warm against his cheek? It didn't matter anymore which was Tseng and which Reno. They were only his – his Turks – and he was in their hands, and he was safe there.

Rufus slept, freed from pain.

.~~~~~.

Rufus woke in the breaking dawn, soft grey light filtering through the blinds. He was lying curved against Tseng, his head on the Director's shoulder. Reno's arm was draped across his waist, his breath warm on Rufus' back. Although his body was starting to trouble him again with the slow-burning ache that would inevitably flare into geostigma's too-familiar pain, Rufus lay still, wanting to hold onto this unaccustomed feeling of peace just a little longer.

"This won't happen again," Rufus thought. "If there's no cure, I'll be dead soon. If there is – I'll have to start again – build everything again - and this… it wouldn't be appropriate. This – tonight - has been perfect, but I need to take back control now – of them – of myself. I'm still the head of Shin-Ra – the head…"

And then he knew where salvation might lie, and what it might cost all of them.

"I'd have to send all four of them," he thought. "The Northern Cave is a hostile environment at the best of times – Reno will get them in, Tseng will lead them, of course. It should be a simple retrieval mission, but…" Rufus remembered lab reports, Hojo's gleeful explanations, Jenova's alien capacity for reunion. Who knew what malign powers those cells might retain, even now? And yet what choice was there? It was hope – for himself – for all those afflicted by geostigma's curse.

_It had better be as soon as possible_, Rufus thought. _Tomorrow_. He gazed at Tseng's strong profile as the Director slept, the outline of his handsome face already clearer than it had been a few moments ago, as the dawn sharpened relentlessly into day.

_It _is_ tomorrow_, Rufus realised. But still he didn't move. _Not yet. Not quite yet. _

He would tell them when they woke, and he knew they would obey without resentment, without question, as they obeyed all his commands – all his requests – however bizarre or impossible they might seem. Somehow he had never been able to tell them out loud how much that loyalty meant – the strength of his gratitude. He hoped that they knew it anyway.

_Thank you_, he thought. _Rude for your strength, for your constant, unspoken support – Elena for your energy and eternal optimism – Tseng… Tseng for so much… for holding everything together when the world was falling apart; for being the strongest of us all. _

Rufus didn't turn to look at his red-haired Turk who was still sleeping quietly behind him, but he laid his arm alongside Reno's and covered the Turk's hand with his own. _And you_, Rufus thought. _For never letting anything defeat you. For making us all laugh, and for giving me a reason…_

_ Just – for being Reno._

**_The End_**

**_

* * *

_Thank you for reading.**


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